Matthew 9:14-17 - On Fasting

¹⁴ Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees frequently go without food, but your disciples do not?

¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, Will the friends of the newly-married man be sad as long as he is with them? But the days will come when he will be taken away from them, and then will they go without food. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ And men do not put new wine into old wine-skins; or the skins will be burst and the wine will come out, and the skins are of no more use: but they put new wine into new wine-skins, and so the two will be safe.

¹⁸ And John's disciples and the Pharisees were taking no food: and they came and said to him, Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees go without food, but your disciples do not?

¹⁹ And Jesus said to them, Will the friends of a newly-married man go without food while he is with them? as long as they have him with them they will not go without food. ²⁰ But the days will come when the husband will be taken away from them, and then they will go without food. ²¹ No man puts a bit of new cloth on an old coat: or the new, by pulling away from the old, makes a worse hole. ²² And no man puts new wine into old wine-skins: or the skins will be burst by the wine, and the wine and the skins will be wasted: but new wine has to be put into new wine-skins.

³³ And they said to him, The disciples of John frequently go without food, and make prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees; but your disciples take food and drink.

³⁴ And Jesus said, Are you able to make the friends of the newly-married man go without food when he is with them? ³⁵ But the days will come when he will be taken away from them, and then they will go without food.

³⁶ And he said to them, in a story, No man takes a bit of cloth from a new coat and puts it on to an old coat, for so the new coat would be damaged and the bit from the new would not go well with the old. ³⁷ And no man puts new wine into old wine-skins, for fear that the skins will be burst by the new wine, and the wine be let out, and the skins come to destruction. ³⁸ But new wine has to be put into new wine-skins. ³⁹ And no man, having had old wine, has any desire for new, for he says, The old is better.