Section 22:1–14 Jesus told a parable about a wedding

In this section, Jesus told a third parable to criticize the Jewish leaders. In this parable, a king gave a wedding for his son. The important people whom he invited were not interested in coming to the wedding. (This represents the Jewish leaders who were not interested in accepting God’s invitation to be part of his kingdom.) So the king sent his servants out to invite everyone else. (This represents the prophets whom God sent to invite common people to be part of his kingdom. Common people were glad to accept God’s invitation.)

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

A Story about a Wedding Reception (God’s Word)
-or-
The guests at the wedding banquet for the king’s son

There is a parallel passage for this story in Luke 14:15–24.

Paragraph 22:1–4

22:1

And: The Greek conjunction that the English Standard Version translates as And is the ordinary Greek conjunction that connects two things or events. Because this is the beginning of a new section, many English versions do not translate this conjunction here.

Here is another way to begin this section:

Then

again: This word indicates that this parable is another in the set of three parables that began at 21:28.

Here is another way to translate this word:

once again (New Century Version)

Jesus spoke to them: The pronoun them refers to the chief priests, elders and Pharisees whom Jesus had been talking with.

Here is another way to translate this pronoun:

the leaders

in parables: The Greek word that the English Standard Version translates as parables is plural. In this section, Jesus told the parable of a wedding. So it is possible to use the singular form here. For example:

a parable
-or-
story

parables: The Greek word that the English Standard Version translates as parables is more literally translated “comparisons.” Parables teach a lesson or truth by showing how it is like something that people already know about. Jesus used several types of parables including metaphors, wise sayings, and stories taken from everyday life. The hearer usually has to discover the lesson for himself.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

• Use a general term in your language that can be used to describe the different types of parables that Jesus used. Some English examples are:

illustrations
-or-
metaphors

• Use a descriptive term. For example:

symbolic sayings/words/stories

• Use more than one word or descriptive term for the different types of parables that Jesus used. For example:

stories and illustrations
-or-
symbols and sayings

The word parables is also in 21:45a. You should translate it the same way here as you did there.

saying: This word introduces a long speech. It might be preferable to start a new sentence here. For example:

He said (New Living Translation (2004))

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