Matthew 9 · Verse 16

Matthew 9:16

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.

Matthew 9:16, King James Version

Matthew 9:16 in other translations

BSB	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.
WEB	No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made.
ASV	And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment; for that which should fill it up taketh from the garment, and a worse rent is made.
YLT	‘And no one doth put a patch of undressed cloth on an old garment, for its filling up doth take from the garment, and a worse rent is made.
DARBY	But no one puts a patch of new cloth on an old garment, for its filling up takes from the garment and a worse rent takes place.
BBE	And no man puts a bit of new cloth on an old coat, for by pulling away from the old, it makes a worse hole.
Webster	No man putteth a piece of new cloth to an old garment: for that which is put in to fill it up, taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.

What does Matthew 9:16 mean?

Barnes' Notes

Verse 16. No man putteth a piece of new cloth, etc. A second illustration was drawn from a well know fact, showing also that there was a propriety or fitness of things. None of you, says he, in mending an old garment, would take a piece of entire new cloth. There would be a waste in it. An old piece, or a piece like the garment, would be better. The word here treated new, in the original means rude, undressed, or not fulled or cleansed by the cloth-dresser. In this state, if applied to an old garment, and if wet, it would contract and draw off a part of the garment to which it was attached, and thus make the rent worse than it was. So, says he, my new doctrines do not match with the old rites of the Pharisees. There is a fitness of things. Their doctrines required much fasting. In my system it would be incongruous; and if my new doctrines were to be attached to their old ones, it would only make the matter worse.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth - Ουδεις δε επιβαλλει επιβλημα ρακους αγναφου επι ιματιω παλαιω. No man putteth a patch of unscoured cloth upon an old garment. This is the most literal translation I can give of this verse, to convey its meaning to those who cannot consult the original. Ρακος αγναφον is that cloth which has not been scoured, or which has not passed under the hand of the fuller, who is called γναφευς in Greek: and επιβλημα signifies a piece put on, or what we commonly term a patch. It - taketh from the garment - Instead of closing up the rent, it makes a larger, by tearing away with it the whole breadth of the cloth over which it was laid; αιρει γαρ το πληρωμα αυτου - it taketh its fullness or whole breadth from the garment; this I am persuaded is the meaning of the original, well expressed by the Latin, or Itala of the C. Bezae, Tollit enim plenitudo ejus de vestimento. "It takes away its fullness from the garment."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 9:14-17

John was at this time in prison; his circumstances, his character, and the nature of the message he was sent to deliver, led those who were peculiarly attached to him, to keep frequent fasts. Christ referred them to John's testimony of him, Joh 3:29. Though there is no doubt that Jesus and his disciples lived in a spare and frugal manner, it would be improper for his disciples to fast while they had the comfort of…

Read the full comment on Matthew 9:14-17 →

Matthew 9:16 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

οὐδεὶςoudeisNo [one]G3762

δὲdehoweverG1161

ἐπιβάλλειepiballeiputsG1911

ἐπίβλημαepiblēmaa patchG1915

ῥάκουςrhakousof clothG4470

ἀγνάφουagnaphouunshrunkG46

ἐπὶepionG1909

ἱματίῳhimatiōclothingG2440

παλαιῷ·palaiōold;G3820

αἴρειaireitears awayG142

γὰρgarforG1063

τὸtotheG3588

πλήρωμαplērōmapatchG4138

αὐτοῦautouof itG846

ἀπὸapofromG575

τοῦtoutheG3588

ἱματίου,himatiougarment,G2440

καὶkaiandG2532

χεῖρονcheirona worseG5501

σχίσμαschismatearG4978

γίνεται.ginetaiemerges.G1096

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 9:16

1 Corinthians 3:1-2
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
John 16:12
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Psalms 125:3
For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.
1 Corinthians 13:13
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Isaiah 40:11
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

new cloth. or, raw, or unwrought cloth. for.
Ge 33:14; Ps 125:3; Isa 40:11; Joh 16:12; 1Co 3:1,2; 13:13

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Matthew 9:15
And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
Matthew 9:16
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.
Matthew 9:17
Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

Read all of Matthew 9

Matthew 9:16 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y nadie echa remiendo de paño recio en vestido viejo; porque el tal remiendo tira del vestido, y se hace peor la rotura.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et personne ne met un morceau de drap neuf à un vieil habit, car la pièce emporte une partie de l’habit, et la déchirure en devient plus mauvaise.
German Elberfelder 1871	Niemand aber setzt einen Flicken von neuem Tuch auf ein altes Kleid; denn das Eingesetzte reißt von dem Kleide ab, und der Riß wird ärger.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Nemo autem immittit commissuram panni rudis in vestimentum vetus: tollit enim plenitudinem ejus a vestimento, et pejor scissura fit.