³⁴So he^* said^l to them, “You are not able to make the bridegroom’s attendants^m fast as long as the bridegroom is with them, are you?^* ³⁵But days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”

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Footnotes

*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
lSome manuscripts have “So Jesus said”
mLiterally “sons of the bridal chamber”
*The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “are you”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Jesus said to them, “You can’t make the wedding guests fast while the groom is with them, can you? But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them—then they will fast in those days.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

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