Matthew 9:16

No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus speaks this parable in direct response to a question from John’s disciples and others regarding fasting. He delivers it immediately after explaining that His physical presence marks a time of celebration rather than mourning.

The words — The text uses ἐπιβάλλει (epiballei), meaning “puts on,” and ἀγνάφου (agnaphou), meaning “unshrunk,” to describe an unprocessed cloth patch. These terms specify a fresh, untreated fabric that has not been pre-washed to prevent contraction.

The thread — This imagery of incompatible materials recurs in the parallel wineskin analogy in Matthew 9:17 and echoes the principle of structural integrity found in 1 Corinthians 3:1. The warning against forced compatibility also aligns with the boundary of righteous inheritance described in Psalms 125:3.

Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that new spiritual realities cannot be forcibly grafted onto outdated religious structures without causing rupture. It requires the reader to abandon attempts to mix old forms with new divine movements.

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

No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.

Cross-references

1 Corinthians 3:1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ.
John 16:12 I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.
Psalms 125:3 For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice.
Isaiah 40:11 He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.
Genesis 33:14 Please let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a comfortable pace for the livestock and children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”