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Luke 5:33

Then they said to Him, “John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees frequently fast and pray, but Yours keep on eating and drinking.”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And they said unto him, The disciples of John fast often, and make supplications; likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink.

KJV

And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?

Commentary

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Hebraic traditional view

Levi's feast and the old wine

Levi “made him a great feast in his own house,” and the objection came at the guest list: the Pharisaic table discipline meant an observant associate did not eat with the non-observant, whose food might be untithed and whose vessels unclean, and tax collectors stood furthest outside the circle of trust: the Mishnah rules a house unclean if tax collectors have entered it (Taharot 7:6), and even permits declaring untruths to them under duress, classing them with robbers (Nedarim 3:4). The table Jesus chose was a boundary deliberately crossed: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The fuller table-and-fasting background is in this site's Matthew 9 note.

Luke alone keeps the last saying: “No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.” Spoken at a Jewish table about Jewish devotion, it is a gracious word, not a sneer: Jesus knows exactly why the old ways taste right to those formed by them, even as He announces something new that will not fit the old wineskins.

Sources: Mishnah Taharot 7:6 (tax collectors and the unclean house) · Mishnah Nedarim 3:4 (vows made to tax collectors)

Original language & word study

24 tagged words
OriginalTransliterationMeaningWord study
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δὲdeAndG1161
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πρὸςprostoG4314
αὐτόν·autonHim;G846
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μαθηταὶmathētaidisciplesG3101
ἸωάννουIōannouof JohnG2491
νηστεύουσινnēsteuousinfastG3522
πυκνὰpuknaoftenG4437
καὶkaiandG2532
δεήσειςdeēseisprayersG1162
ποιοῦνται,poiountaimake,G4160
ὁμοίωςhomoiōslikewiseG3668
καὶkaialsoG2532
οἱhoithoseG3588
τῶνtōnof theG3588
Φαρισαίων,PharisaiōnPharisees,G5330
οἱhoithoseG3588
δὲdehoweverG1161
σοὶsoiof YouG4771
ἐσθίουσινesthiousineatG2068
καὶkaiandG2532
πίνουσιν.¶pinousindrink.G4095

The walk

About Luke

The Return of the Prodigal Son — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
The Return of the Prodigal Son — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)