10. When you are invited to be a guest, go and sit in the worst place. Then the one who invited you may come and say, “My friend, take a better seat!” You will then be honoured in front of all the other guests.
11. If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honoured.
12. Then Jesus said to the man who had invited him:When you give a dinner or a banquet, don't invite your friends and family and relatives and rich neighbours. If you do, they will invite you in return, and you will be paid back.
13. When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.
14. They cannot pay you back. But God will bless you and reward you when his people rise from death.
15. After Jesus had finished speaking, one of the guests said, “The greatest blessing of all is to be at the banquet in God's kingdom!”
16. Jesus told him:A man once gave a great banquet and invited a lot of guests.
17. When the banquet was ready, he sent a servant to tell the guests, “Everything is ready! Please come.”
18. One guest after another started making excuses. The first one said, “I bought some land, and I've got to look it over. Please excuse me.”
19. Another guest said, “I bought five teams of oxen, and I need to try them out. Please excuse me.”