Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who were 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.
- BSB Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited were not worthy.
- NKJV Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding 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 1:5This is an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that you may be counted worthy of God’s Kingdom, for which you also suffer.
- Rev 3:4Nevertheless you have a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
- Acts 13:46Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, “It was necessary that God’s word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
- Luke 20:35But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage.
- Rev 22:14Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city.
- Luke 21:36Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
- Matt 10:37–38He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me.
- Matt 10:11–13Into whatever city or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy; and stay there until you go 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.