Now there went with him great multitudes: and he turned, and said unto
them, "If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and
mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and
his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Whosoever doth not bear
his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of
you, desiring to build a tower, doth not first sit down and count the
cost, whether he have wherewith to complete it? Lest haply, when he
hath laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all that behold
begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build, and was not able
to finish.' Or what king, as he goeth to encounter another king in
war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with
ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an
ambassage, and asketh conditions of peace. So therefore whosoever he
be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my
disciple. Salt therefore is good: but if even the salt have lost its
savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the land
nor for the dunghill: men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear."