1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the ^vPharisees, they were ^wwatching him carefully.

7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a ^aplace of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ^b‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For ^ceveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, and ^dhe who humbles himself will be exalted.”

12 ^eHe said also to the man who had invited him, ^f“When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers¹ or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be ^grepaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the ^hjust.”