Paragraph 9:16–17
In this paragraph, Jesus told two other parables or extended metaphors to illustrate that his way cannot just be added to the old Jewish ways. If it is, both ways are destroyed. You may want to begin with some words to remind people that Jesus continues to speak. For example:
⌊Jesus also said,⌋
-or-
⌊Jesus continued with two stories/parables,⌋
9:16a–d
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: This is an extended metaphor. In this metaphor, Jesus compared his teaching to cloth that has not yet shrunk. This is a new cloth. He compared the traditions of the Jews to an old garment. No one uses a piece of unshrunk (new) cloth to patch an old garment. In the same way, people should not simply add his teaching to their traditions.
Here are some other ways to translate this extended metaphor:
• Keep the metaphor and add a footnote to explain the meaning. Here is a sample footnote:
In this parable, Jesus compared his teaching to new cloth that no one has washed yet. He compared the traditions of the Jews to an old garment. No one uses a piece of new cloth to patch an old cloth. In the same way, people should not add his teaching to their old customs.
• Add some words of introduction before the metaphor to explain it. For example:
⌊Then Jesus told a parable to explain that his new teachings cannot fit into the old teachings. He said,⌋ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment….”
• Make explicit some of the meaning within the metaphor. For example:
⌊If my teaching is mixed with the old traditions,⌋ it will be like putting a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. No one does that, because the new piece will shrink and tear the old cloth. ⌊My teaching⌋ will become unusable just like the cloth.
Whichever method you choose, you should also indicate some of the meaning in the section heading. See the examples listed above under the section heading.
9:16a
No one: The phrase No one introduces a general statement. It says something that is true of everyone. In some languages, it may be natural to introduce this statement with a general word like “people” or with a pronoun like “you” or “they.” For example:
People do not put a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment.
-or-
You do not put a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment.
sews: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sews also means “lays on.” The parable clearly indicates that the piece of new cloth is attached to the old garment. So a more specific word for this is something like “sew.”
Here are some other ways to translate this:
patches up (Good News Translation)
-or-
puts (English Standard Version)
-or-
attaches
9:16b
a patch of unshrunk cloth: This phrase refers to a piece of cloth that is new and has not yet been washed. Some types of cloth shrink (that is, get a little smaller) when they are washed for the first time. Before being washed, such cloth is unshrunk.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
a piece of new cloth (Good News Translation)
-or-
a new piece of cloth that will shrink (God’s Word)
an old garment: This phrase refers to any kind of old clothing.
The piece of new cloth is sewed over a hole or tear in the old clothing. You may want to make some of this information explicit. For example:
over a hole in an old coat (New Century Version)
-or-
⌊a tear in⌋ an old piece of clothing
9:16c
For: The conjunction For introduces the reason why “no one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment.” It is because the new unshrunk cloth would shrink when the garment was washed, but the old part of the garment would not. This then would create a tear in the garment.
Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:
because
-or-
The reason is that
There is some information in 9:16b that is not stated but implied. It is “if someone were to sew a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment.” It may be more natural in your language to include this implied information in the translation. For example:
because ⌊if someone were to sew a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment⌋
-or-
If he does (New Century Version)
the patch will pull away from the garment: This clause indicates that the patch of new cloth shrinks and pulls away from the part of the old garment it was sewn to.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
the new patch will shrink (Good News Translation)
-or-
the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth (New Living Translation (2004))
9:16d
and a worse tear will result: This clause means that the tear/hole in the cloth will become bigger.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
and the tear will become worse (God’s Word)
-or-
and the hole will become bigger
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