What Does Luke 14:16 Mean?
But he said to him, A certain man made a great supper, and called many.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:THE KEY
The invitation is not merely an announcement about the feast; it is a call that gathers people into it.
THE MEANING
A prepared feast stands open, and its invitation reaches many. The welcome begins with what is already made ready, and the call draws people toward shared abundance.
THE ROOT
ἐκάλεσεν
ekalesen
GROWS FROM
καλέω
kaleō
To call, summon, or invite.
“called many” in this verse is ekalesen. The verb translated “bade” carries the sense of calling people in, not simply giving them information. The feast and the call belong together: the prepared abundance becomes an invitation to gather and share it.
ALSO GROWS
klēsis: A call or summons.
κλῆσις
This branch names the call itself, opening the sense of “bade” as an invitation into participation.
klētos: Someone who has been called or invited.
κλητός
This branch describes a person in relation to the call, showing how an invitation draws people toward a gathering.
THE PATTERN
Abundance is made ready and then opened through a call that gathers people to share it.
And in this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines kept on their lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines kept on their lees, well strained.Go therefore to the crossroads, and call to the wedding as many as you find.And he says to me, Write, Flourishing are those who are called to the wedding supper of the Lamb. And he says to me, These are the true words of God.THE THREAD
Go therefore to the crossroads, and call to the wedding as many as you find.Matthew uses the same Greek call-word as Luke’s “bade.” Luke shows the invitation going out to many; Matthew opens that call toward those found along the highways.
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