World English Bible · Under Rome
Luke 14
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When he went into the house of one of the of the on a to eat bread, they were watching him. 2Behold, a certain man who had dropsy was in front of him. , answering, spoke to the and , saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the ?" But they were silent. He took him, and healed him, and let him go. He answered them, "Which of you, if your son or an ox fell into a well, wouldn't immediately pull him out on a ?" They couldn't answer him regarding these things. He spoke to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them, "When you are invited by anyone to a , don't sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him, and he who invited both of you would come and tell you, 'Make room for this person.' Then you would begin, with , to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will be in the of all who sit with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." He also said to the one who had invited him, "When you make a dinner or a supper, don't call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, or perhaps they might also return the , and pay you back. But when you make a feast, ask , the maimed, the lame, or the blind; and you will be , because they don't have the resources to you. For you will be repaid in the of ." When one of those who sat with him heard these things, he said to him, " is he who will feast in Kingdom!" But he said to him, "A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many people. He sent out his servant at supper time to tell those who were invited, 'Come, for everything is ready now.' They all as one began to make excuses. "The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please have me excused.' 19"Another said, 'I have bought five of oxen, and I must go try them out. Please have me excused.' "Another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I can't come.' "That servant came, and told his these things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in , maimed, blind, and lame.' "The servant said, ', it is done as you commanded, and there is still room.' " said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste of my supper. For many are called, but few are chosen.'" Now were going with him. He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to me, and doesn't disregard his own , mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can't be my . Whoever doesn't bear his own and come after me, can't be my . For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn't first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 29Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation and isn't able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and wasn't able to finish.' Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy and asks for conditions of peace. So therefore, whoever of you who doesn't renounce all that he has, he can't be my . "Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and tasteless, with what do you season it? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.