unshrunk cloth (illustration)

The Greek that is translated as “unshrunk cloth” or “unshrunk patch” in English is illustrated for use in Bible translations in East Africa by Pioneer Bible Translators like this:

Image owned by PBT and Jonathan McDaniel and licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

complete verse (Matthew 9:16)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 9:16:

  • Uma: “After that, Yesus said two more parables, he said: ‘There is no-one who patches an old shirt with a new patch/piece of cloth. Because that new patch/piece of cloth will shrink, until that old shirt tears, with the result that the tear will just get bigger.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then Isa told parables/parabled about the former teaching and his teaching. He said, ‘No person puts a patch of new cloth which has not yet been washed onto old clothes. Because if he does that, the old clothes will tear again and the tear will be greater.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then Jesus told a parable about how his new teaching and the old doctrine do not go together. He said, ‘New cloth which hasn’t yet been shrunk, it is not good to patch a shirt of cloth which is already weak. Because when it is washed, the new cloth will shrink, and the new will tear away from the old, and far bigger will be its torn place.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Jesus also said parabling, ‘There is no person who uses-new cloth -to-patch an old garment. Because what-is-used-to-patch will shrink and what-it-is-patched-to will be ripped worse.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And then he taught them that it isn’t possible/acceptable to just add on this teaching of his to the customs of the Judio. He said, ‘No-one sews a patch of new cloth not yet laundered on to old clothes. Because when it shrinks, the tear will be all the bigger.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Concerning the new word I am teaching, it cannot be mixed with the old teaching. It is like a new cloth cannot patch old clothing. Because the new cloth will shrink, even more spoiling the old clothing.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 9:16

The two sayings contained in verses 16-17 are in the form of proverbial sayings. In fact, Luke (5.36) specifically identifies them as parables (many languages will identify them as proverbs). Verse 16 describes a scene which is almost universally familiar. If a piece of unshrunk (that is, new) cloth is sewn on an old garment, the new patch will shrink when it is washed and make the hole even bigger than it was before. Old garment (Good News Translation “old coat”) may be translated “old piece of clothing.”

It may be necessary to make explicit that putting a piece of cloth on an old garment is to repair it. Puts may therefore be translated as “sews on,” “uses to repair,” or “uses to patch.”

Further, it is when the patched garment is washed that the patch shrinks and the tearing becomes worse. Some translations specify this: “For when the clothing is washed, the patch shrinks and it tears away from the cloth, making the tear worse.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 9:16

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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