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.’
22. Soon the servant said, ‘Your order has been carried out, sir, but there is room for more.’
23. So the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the country roads and lanes and make people come in, so that my house will be full.