New Living Translation

Darby Bible Translation

Parable of the Great Feast

Jesus also told them other parables. He said,

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The Parable of the Banquet

And Jesus answering spoke to them again in parables, saying,

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“The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.

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The kingdom of the heavens has become like a king who made a wedding feast for his son,

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When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!

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and sent his bondmen to call the persons invited to the wedding feast, and they would not come.

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“So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’

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Again he sent other bondmen, saying, Say to the persons invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatted beasts are killed, and all things ready; come to the wedding feast.

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But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business.

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But they made light of it, and went, one to his own land, and another to his commerce.

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Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.

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And the rest, laying hold of his bondmen, ill-treated and slew [them].

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“The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town.

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And [when] the king [heard of it he] was wroth, and having sent his forces, destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

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And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor.

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Then he says to his bondmen, The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy;

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Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’

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go therefore into the thoroughfares of the highways, and as many as ye shall find invite to the wedding feast.

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So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.

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And those bondmen went out into the highways, and brought together all as many as they found, both evil and good; and the wedding feast was furnished with guests.

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“But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding.

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And the king, having gone in to see the guests, beheld there a man not clothed with a wedding garment.

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‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply.

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And he says to him, [My] friend, how camest thou in here not having on a wedding garment? But he was speechless.

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Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

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Then said the king to the servants, Bind him feet and hands, and take him away, and cast him out into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

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“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

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For many are called ones, but few chosen ones.

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Taxes for Caesar

Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.

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Paying Taxes to Caesar

Then went the Pharisees and held a council how they might ensnare him in speaking.

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They sent some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to meet with him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites.

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And they send out to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that thou art true and teachest the way of God in truth, and carest not for any one, for thou regardest not men's person;

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Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

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tell us therefore what thou thinkest: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

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But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me?

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But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said, Why tempt ye me, hypocrites?

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Here, show me the coin used for the tax.” When they handed him a Roman coin,a

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Shew me the money of the tribute. And they presented to him a denarius.

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he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

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And he says to them, Whose [is] this image and superscription?

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“Caesar’s,” they replied.
“Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

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They say to him, Caesar's. Then he says to them, Pay then what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God.

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His reply amazed them, and they went away.

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And when they heard [him], they wondered, and left him, and went away.

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Discussion about Resurrection

That same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees — religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question:

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Sadducees Question the Resurrection

On that day came to him Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection; and they demanded of him,

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“Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.’b

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saying, Teacher, Moses said, If any one die, not having children, his brother shall marry his wife and shall raise up seed to his brother.

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Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children, so his brother married the widow.

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Now there were with us seven brethren; and the first having married died, and not having seed, left his wife to his brother.

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But the second brother also died, and the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them.

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In like manner also the second and the third, unto the seven.

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Last of all, the woman also died.

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And last of all the woman also died.

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So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”

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In the resurrection therefore of which of the seven shall she be wife, for all had her?

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Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

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And Jesus answering said to them, Ye err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God.

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For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.

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For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as angels of God in heaven.

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“But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead — haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said,c

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But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read what was spoken to you by God, saying,

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‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’d So he is the God of the living, not the dead.”

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*I* am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not God of [the] dead, but of [the] living.

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When the crowds heard him, they were astounded at his teaching.

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And when the crowds heard [it] they were astonished at his doctrine.

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The Most Important Commandment

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again.

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The Greatest Commandment

But the Pharisees, having heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, were gathered together.

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One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:

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And one of them, a lawyer, demanded, tempting him, and saying,

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“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

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Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?

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Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’e

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And he said to him, Thou shalt love [the] Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy understanding.

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This is the first and greatest commandment.

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This is [the] great and first commandment.

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A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’f

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And [the] second is like it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

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The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

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On these two commandments the whole law and the prophets hang.

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Whose Son Is the Messiah?

Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question:

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Whose Son is the Christ?

And the Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus demanded of them,

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“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They replied, “He is the son of David.”

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saying, What think ye concerning the Christ? whose son is he? They say to him, David's.

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Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,

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He says to them, How then does David in Spirit call him Lord, saying,

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‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’g

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The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand until I put thine enemies under thy feet?

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Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”

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If therefore David call him Lord, how is he his son?

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No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

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And no one was able to answer him a word, nor did any one dare from that day to question him any more.

Parallel

New Living Translation

Darby Bible Translation

Matthew 22

Matthew 22