^2:18Now³⁴ John’s³⁵ disciples and the Pharisees³⁶ were fasting.³⁷ So³⁸ they came to Jesus³⁹ and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?” ^2:19Jesus⁴⁰ said to them, “The wedding guests⁴¹ cannot fast while the bridegroom⁴² is with them, can they?⁴³ As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast. ^2:20But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them,⁴⁴ and at that time⁴⁵ they will fast. ^2:21No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse. ^2:22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins;⁴⁶ otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be destroyed. Instead new wine is poured into new wineskins.”⁴⁷

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Footnotes

34 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
35 John refers to John the Baptist.
36 See the note on Pharisees in .
37 John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29–34; 23:26–32; Num 29:7–11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.
38 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate that in the narrative this question happened as a result of the fasting of John’s disciples and the Pharisees.
39 Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
40 Grk “And Jesus.”
41 Grk “sons of the wedding hall,” an idiom referring to wedding guests, or more specifically, friends of the bridegroom present at the wedding celebration (L&N 11.7).
42 The expression while the bridegroom is with them is an allusion to messianic times (John 3:29; Isa 54:5–6; 62:4–5; 4 Ezra 2:15, 38).
43 Questions prefaced with μή (mē) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “can they?”).
44 The statement the bridegroom will be taken from them is a veiled allusion by Jesus to his death, which he did not make explicit until the incident at Caesarea Philippi in 8:27ff. (cf. 8:31; 9:31; 10:33).
45 Grk “then on that day.”
46 Wineskins were bags made of skin or leather, used for storing wine in NT times. As the new wine fermented and expanded, it would stretch the new wineskins. Putting new (unfermented) wine in old wineskins, which had already been stretched, would result in the bursting of the wineskins.
47 The meaning of the saying new wine is poured into new skins is that the presence and teaching of Jesus was something new and signaled the passing of the old. It could not be confined within the old religion of Judaism, but involved the inauguration and consummation of the kingdom of God.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. People came and asked him, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples do not fast?”

Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new patch pulls away from the old cloth, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the skins. No, new wine is put into fresh wineskins.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Once when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?”

Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

“Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before.

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and said to him, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The bridegroom’s attendants are not able to fast while the bridegroom is with them, are they? As long a time as they have the bridegroom with them, they are not able to fast. But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. No one sews a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old garment. Otherwise the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and the tear becomes worse. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the wine will burst the wineskins and the wine is destroyed and the wineskins too. But new wine is put into new wineskins.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

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