Bible Strands
Mark 2:19
Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? As long as He is with them, they cannot fast.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses inquirers who question why His followers do not fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees. He speaks this reply during His public ministry while physically present with His immediate circle.
The words — δύνανται (dunantai) renders literally as “are able,” joined with μὴ (mē) meaning “not,” to form the rhetorical statement that the guests “cannot fast.” This present-tense capability frames the prohibition as a current reality rather than a future rule.
The thread — The bridegroom imagery draws on wedding feast customs found in Genesis 29:22 and Judges 14:10, while the contrast between presence and absence anticipates the delayed expectation in Matthew 25:1. These references place the metaphor within established Jewish covenantal and prophetic patterns.
Why it lands — The text states that fasting is incompatible with the current reality of the bridegroom’s presence. It explicitly postpones the practice to the future time when that presence is removed.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Matthew 25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
- Genesis 29:22 So Laban invited all the men of that place and prepared a feast.
- Judges 14:10 Then his father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as was customary for the bridegroom.
- Psalms 45:14 In colorful garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions are brought before you.
- Song of Solomon 6:8 There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number,