LUK 5:36-39

The Patches and the Wineskins

36Now he also spoke a parable to them: 'No one, having torn a patch from a new garment, puts it on an old garment — but if he does, both the new will be torn and the patch from the new will not match the old. [5:37] And no one puts new wine into old wineskins — but if he does, the new wine will burst the wineskins, and it itself will be spilled out, and the wineskins will be destroyed. [5:38] But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved. [5:39] And no one having drunk old wine wants the new, for he says, "The old is better."'

In the world it was spoken into

In the first-century Mediterranean world, garments and wineskins were everyday items with practical and symbolic significance. Garments were costly, and patching them was common, but using a new piece of cloth on an old garment would cause the patch to tear away, ruining both. Wineskins, made from animal hides, would stretch and become brittle with age. New wine, still fermenting, required fresh, elastic skins to accommodate the expansion; old skins would burst, wasting both wine and container. These images would resonate with listeners familiar with household economics and agrarian life. The parable contrasts the old and new, emphasizing incompatibility. The mention of old wine as desirable reflects a cultural preference for aged, mellowed wine over the harsher taste of new wine. This metaphor would challenge listeners to consider the relationship between Jesus' teachings and existing religious practices, suggesting that the new cannot simply be grafted onto the old without disruption.

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How other translations render this

LUK 5:36

KJV: And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.
BSB: He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will tear the new garment as well, and the patch from the new will not match the old.
Koinōnos: Now he also spoke a parable to them: 'No one, having torn a patch from a new garment, puts it on an old garment — but if he does, both the new will be torn and the patch from the new will not match the old.

LUK 5:37

KJV: And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
BSB: And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined.
Koinōnos: And no one puts new wine into old wineskins — but if he does, the new wine will burst the wineskins, and it itself will be spilled out, and the wineskins will be destroyed.

LUK 5:38

KJV: But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
BSB: Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.
Koinōnos: But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.

LUK 5:39

KJV: No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
BSB: And no one after drinking old wine wants new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”
Koinōnos: And no one having drunk old wine wants the new, for he says, "The old is better."

Only verses where the wording diverges meaningfully are shown. Identical phrasings are suppressed.

Translator's notes

LUK 5:36

a piece:The word translated 'a piece' refers specifically to a patch or an addition, something applied to an existing garment rather than an integral part of its original construction.
new:The term translated 'new' here implies something fresh, unused, and of a different kind or quality, not merely recently made.

LUK 5:37

wineskins:The word translated 'wineskins' refers to containers made from animal hides, specifically designed to hold liquids like wine, which would stretch and become brittle over time.

LUK 5:39

old:The word translated 'old' here carries the sense of something that has been used and is therefore mellowed, pleasant, or good of its kind, not merely aged.