17. At the time for the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, everything is already prepared.’
18. “But every one of them began to beg off. The first said to him, ‘I bought a farm, and I’m obligated to go out to see it. I’m asking you to have me excused.’
19. Then another one said, ‘I’ve purchased five teams of oxen, and I’m going to check them out. I’m asking you to have me excused.’
20. Still another said, ‘I’ve married a wife, so I cannot come.’
21. “The slave came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house got angry and said to his slave, ‘Quickly go out into the squares and alleys of the city and bring here the poor, the maimed, the blind, and the lame.’
22. “And the slave said, ‘Master, I have done as you instructed, and still there is room.’
23. “So the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the thoroughfares and fenced areas, and press them to come in so my home may be filled.