22:3a
sent his servants: The Greek word that the English Standard Version translates as servants can also be translated “slaves.” The workers in a king’s household were not free laborers who worked for wages. They were people who were owned by him.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
sent his slaves (NET Bible)
22:3b
to call those who were invited: In Greek, this clause is more literally “to call the ones who had been called.” This clause indicates that the king had previously called/invited people to come to the wedding at a later date. Then, when everything was ready, the king sent his slaves to tell these people that the wedding was ready and that they should come.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
to tell the invited guests to come (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
to let the people whom he had invited know that it was time to come
to the wedding feast: As mentioned above in 22:2b, the Greek word that the English Standard Version translates as wedding feast is more literally “wedding.” An important part of a Jewish wedding was eating and feasting. But the Greek term does not specifically refer to the food or meals at a wedding.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
to the wedding
22:3c
but: There is a contrast between the king’s invitation to come (in 22:3b) and the people’s refusing to come (in 22:3c). Most English versions make this contrast explicit with the conjunction “but.”
they would not come: In Greek, this clause is more literally “they did not want to come.”
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
they did not want to come (GNB)
-or-
they were not willing to go
-or-
they refused to come (God’s Word)
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