Matthew 9:14–9:17, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Matthew 9:14–9:17
Bridegroom joy and newness reshape fasting
New cloth, new skins, same people
John's disciples ask why they and the Pharisees fast, but Jesus' disciples do not. He answers with a wedding: the friends of the bridegroom do not mourn while he is with them. Days will come when he is taken away, and then they will fast.
Unshrunk cloth on an old cloak tears. New wine bursts old skins. The images explain timing and fitting response, not a Christianity-versus-Judaism replacement scheme. Jesus and the disciples remain inside Jewish practice. Fasting will return in its time; forcing the old form onto the new presence rips both. Novelty is not automatically faithful, and Judaism is not a ruined container.
How this should shape us
Do not copy someone else's hunger calendar just to look serious. Match the practice to the moment you are actually in. If a structure cannot hold a new obedience, stop sewing patches that will tear the cloak. Fast when the bridegroom's absence is the true weather, not as a costume, and do not preach this as Israel being discarded.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Matthew 9:14–9:17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 9:14–9:17
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 9:14–9:17
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 9:14–9:17
Supports: Critical literary orientation with source, setting, historical, and theological judgments retained as interpretations.
Yale Bible Study, course unit 'Mighty Deeds,' Matthew 9-11 study guide
Supports: Whole-book orientation and unit placement, including visible uncertainty about authorship, date, setting, and purpose.
Enter the Bible Matthew course, 'Summary,' 'Outline,' 'Background,' 'Introductory Issues,' 'Theological Themes,' and passage index entry for Matthew 9:14–9:17
Supports: One complete confessional reading checked against the text, critical scholarship, and Jewish-context controls.
O'Donnell, online Matthew commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Matthew 9:14–9:17
Supports: Jewish setting, Scripture, Torah debate, named groups, practices, and anti-Judaism control at the passage address.
Gale, Matthew introduction and verse-addressed annotations, first-edition print pp. 1-54, exact annotation at Matthew 9:14–9:17
Supports: Literary-dependence analysis with Markan priority, Two-Source/Q, Farrer, and Matthean-priority alternatives kept distinct.
Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem, chapters 1-5, with the Synoptic parallels and order bearing on Matthew 9:14–9:17
Supports: Specialist control for Matthew's Jewish setting, Torah, Israel and nations, polemic, parables, Passion, resurrection, or mission as material to Matthew 9:14–9:17.
Runesson on Israel and the nations, printed pp. 103-133; Levine, concluding safeguards, pp. 449-466
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Matthew 9:14–9:17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 9:14–9:17
Open the Matthew Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 9:14–9:17
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Matthew with Translators' and Textual Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 9:14–9:17
Open source ↗open university bible study course
The Gospel of Matthew Course and Study Guides
Harold W. Attridge and Michal Beth Dinkler
Yale Bible Study, Yale Divinity School, current 2026 online edition
Supports: Critical literary orientation with source, setting, historical, and theological judgments retained as interpretations.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, course unit 'Mighty Deeds,' Matthew 9-11 study guide
Open source ↗open seminary bible study course
Matthew Course
James L. Boyce; revised by Kristofer Phan Coffman
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2023 revision
Supports: Whole-book orientation and unit placement, including visible uncertainty about authorship, date, setting, and purpose.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Matthew course, 'Summary,' 'Outline,' 'Background,' 'Introductory Issues,' 'Theological Themes,' and passage index entry for Matthew 9:14–9:17
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
Matthew
Douglas Sean O'Donnell
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, current 2026 online edition
Supports: One complete confessional reading checked against the text, critical scholarship, and Jewish-context controls.
Exact location: O'Donnell, online Matthew commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Matthew 9:14–9:17
Open source ↗scholarly annotated translation
Matthew, in The Jewish Annotated New Testament
Aaron M. Gale; edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
Aaron M. Gale, Matthew introduction and annotations, print pp. 1-54; related essays and sidebars in The Jewish Annotated New Testament, first edition.
Supports: Jewish setting, Scripture, Torah debate, named groups, practices, and anti-Judaism control at the passage address.
Exact location: Gale, Matthew introduction and verse-addressed annotations, first-edition print pp. 1-54, exact annotation at Matthew 9:14–9:17
Open source ↗open access scholarly monograph
The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze
Mark Goodacre
T&T Clark; author-authorized open release, 2001; open release 2011
Supports: Literary-dependence analysis with Markan priority, Two-Source/Q, Farrer, and Matthean-priority alternatives kept distinct.
Exact location: Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem, chapters 1-5, with the Synoptic parallels and order bearing on Matthew 9:14–9:17
Open source ↗open access scholarly essay collection
Matthew within Judaism: Israel and the Nations in the First Gospel
Anders Runesson and Daniel M. Gurtner, editors
SBL Press, 2020
Supports: Specialist control for Matthew's Jewish setting, Torah, Israel and nations, polemic, parables, Passion, resurrection, or mission as material to Matthew 9:14–9:17.
Exact location: Runesson on Israel and the nations, printed pp. 103-133; Levine, concluding safeguards, pp. 449-466
Open source ↗