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Luke 5:39

And no one after drinking old wine wants new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And no man having drunk old wine desireth new; for he saith, The old is good.

KJV

No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.

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

12 tagged words
OriginalTransliterationMeaningWord study
καὶkaiAndG2532
οὐδεὶςoudeisno [one]G3762
πιὼνpiōnhaving drunkG4095
παλαιὸνpalaionold [wine]G3820
θέλειtheleidesiresG2309
νέον,neonnew,G3501
λέγειlegeihe saysG3004
γάρ·garfor;G1063
hoTheG3588
παλαιὸςpalaiosoldG3820
χρηστόςchrēstosgoodG5543
ἐστιν.¶estinis.G1510

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)