Matius 6:16-18

Proper Fasting

6:16 “When ¹  you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive ²  so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, ³  they have their reward. 6:17 When ⁴  you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 6:18 so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Matius 9:14-15

The Superiority of the New

9:14 Then John’s ⁵  disciples came to Jesus ⁶  and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees ⁷  fast often, ⁸  but your disciples don’t fast?” 9:15 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests ⁹  cannot mourn while the bridegroom ¹⁰  is with them, can they? But the days ¹¹  are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, ¹²  and then they will fast.

[6:16]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:16]  ² tn Here the term “disfigure” used in a number of translations was not used because it could convey to the modern reader the notion of mutilation. L&N 79.17 states, “‘to make unsightly, to disfigure, to make ugly.’ ἀφανίζουσιν γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ‘for they make their faces unsightly’ Mt 6:16.”

[6:16]  ³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[6:17]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:14]  ⁵ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[9:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:14]  ⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:14]  ⁸ sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.

[9:15]  ⁹ tn Grk “sons of the wedding hall,” an idiom referring to wedding guests, or more specifically friends of the bridegroom present at the wedding celebration (L&N 11.7).

[9:15]  ¹⁰ sn The expression while the bridegroom is with them is an allusion to messianic times (John 3:29; Isa 54:5-6; 62:4-5; 4 Ezra 2:15, 38).

[9:15]  ¹¹ tn Grk “days.”

[9:15]  ¹² sn The statement the bridegroom will be taken from them is a veiled allusion by Jesus to his death, which he did not make explicit until the incident at Caesarea Philippi in 16:13ff.