16. Jesus said to him, “There was once a man who was giving a great feast to which he invited many people.
17. When it was time for the feast, he sent his servant to tell his guests, ‘Come, everything is ready!’
18. But they all began, one after another, to make excuses. The first one told the servant, ‘I have bought a field and must go and look at it; please accept my apologies.’
19. Another one said, ‘I have bought five pairs of oxen and am on my way to try them out; please accept my apologies.’
20. Another one said, ‘I have just got married, and for that reason I cannot come.’
21. “The servant went back and told all this to his master. The master was furious and said to his servant, ‘Hurry out to the streets and alleys of the town, and bring back the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’