Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited were not worthy.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited weren’t worthy.
- KJV Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
- NKJV Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
- NASB Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
- NLT And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The king declares the feast ready but the invited guests unworthy. Their refusal, not the king's reluctance, excludes them.
Overview
The king affirms that the celebration stands prepared while those first invited have proven unworthy by their rejection. Their unworthiness stems from refusing the gracious call, not from any failure of the king's provision. This sets the stage for the invitation to go out to others.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Th 1:5All this is clear evidence of God’s righteous judgment. And so you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
- Rev 3:4But you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and because they are worthy, they will walk with Me in white.
- Acts 13:46Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
- Luke 20:35But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.
- Rev 22:14Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.
- Luke 21:36So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
- Matt 10:37–38Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
- Matt 10:11–13Whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy there and stay at his house until you move on.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 22:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.