The Parable of the Guests

When [Jesus] noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, He told them a parable: 8 “When you are invited to a wedding banquet, {do} not sit in the place of honor, in case [someone] more distinguished than you has been invited 9 Then the host who invited both of you will come [and] tell you,‘Give this man [your] seat.’ And in humiliation, you will have to take the last place.

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But when you are invited, go [and] sit in the last place, so that your host will come [and] tell you,‘Friend, move up to a better place.’[fn] Then you will be honored in front of those[fn] at the table [with] you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the [one who] humbles himself will be exalted.”

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Then [Jesus] said to the [man who] had invited Him,“When you host a dinner or a banquet, {do} not invite your friends [or] brothers [or] relatives [or] rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you {in return}, and you will be repaid. 13 But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, [and] the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Since vvv they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

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