Mark 2:18-22

International Standard Version

A Question about Fasting^(A)

¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees would fast regularly. Some people^[a] came and asked Jesus,^[b] “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”

¹⁹ Jesus replied, “The wedding guests^[c] can’t fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they can’t fast. ²⁰ But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.”

The Unshrunk Cloth^(B)

²¹ “No one patches an old garment with a piece of unshrunk cloth. If he does, the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and a worse tear is made. ²² And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will make the skins burst, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured^[d] into fresh wineskins.”