Matthew 9:14-17

Expanded Bible

Jesus’ Followers Are Criticized^(A)

¹⁴ Then the ·followers [disciples] of John [^Cthe Baptist] came to Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees often fast [^Cgiving up eating for spiritual purposes], but your ·followers [disciples] don’t?”

¹⁵ Jesus answered, “The ·friends of the bridegroom [or wedding guests; ^Lchildren of the wedding hall] ·are not sad [^Lcannot mourn] while he is with them [^CJesus is referring to himself; John 3:29; Rev. 19:7]. But the ·time [^Ldays] will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.

¹⁶ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk [^Cnew] cloth over a hole in an old ·coat [garment]. If he does, the patch will shrink and pull away from the ·coat [garment], making the ·hole [tear] worse. ¹⁷ Also, people never pour new wine into old ·leather bags [wineskins]. Otherwise, the ·bags [wineskins] will ·break [burst; ^Cbecause the fermenting wine expands], the wine will spill, and the ·wine bags [wineskins] will be ruined. But people always pour new wine into ·new [fresh] ·wine bags [wineskins]. Then both ·will continue to be good [are preserved].”