Matthew 22:12 (YLT)

Passage

and he saith to him, Comrade, how didst thou come in hither, not having clothing of the marriage-feast? and he was speechless.

Nearby Context

Matthew 22:10 `And those servants, having gone forth to the ways, did gather all, as many as they found, both bad and good, and the marriage-feast apartment was filled with those reclining.

Matthew 22:11 `And the king having come in to view those reclining, saw there a man not clothed with clothing of the marriage-feast,

Matthew 22:12 and he saith to him, Comrade, how didst thou come in hither, not having clothing of the marriage-feast? and he was speechless.

Matthew 22:13 `Then said the king to the ministrants, Having bound his feet and hands, take him up and cast forth to the outer darkness, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth;

Matthew 22:14 for many are called, and few chosen.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saith", "comrade", "didst", "thou", "come", "hither", "having", and "clothing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saith" and "comrade", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "And the king having come in to..." into verse 13's "Then said the king to the ministrants...", so "saith" and "comrade" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "saith" and "comrade" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.