¹

And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:

²

The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son,

³

and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.

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Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding." '

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But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.

⁶

And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.

⁷

But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

⁸

Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.

⁹

'Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.'

¹⁰

So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹

But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.

¹²

So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.

¹³

Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

¹⁴

For many are called, but few are chosen.