Matthew 9:16
Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.) Matthew 9:16 appears in the Greek New Testament. The text above is from the Tischendorf 8th edition. Each word links to its Strong’s number and a concise gloss. Click any word for its full Thayer’s Greek Lexicon entry.No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made.
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Compare translations 3
The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.
Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.
Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.
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World English Bible Public Domain
No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made.
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King James Version Public Domain
No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Now no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for its patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear happens.
unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).
Show all 19 translations
Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.
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World English Bible Public Domain
No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made.
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Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.
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Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.
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King James Version Public Domain
No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.
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American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment; for that which should fill it up taketh from the garment, and a worse rent is made.
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Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment; for that which should fill it up taketh from the garment, and a worse rent is made.
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Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
Moreouer no man pieceth an olde garment with a piece of newe cloth: for that that should fill it vp, taketh away from the garment, and the breach is worse.
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Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
And nobody putteth a piece of raw cloth unto an old garment. For it taketh away the fullness thereof from the garment, and there is made a greater rent.
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Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
`And no one doth put a patch of undressed cloth on an old garment, for its filling up doth take from the garment, and a worse rent is made.
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Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
And no one puts a patch of undressed cloth on an old garment, for its filling up takes from the garment, and a worse split is made.
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Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
No man puts a piece of new cloth on an old garment, for the patch will tear away from the garment, and a worse tear will be made.
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Now no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for its patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear happens.
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Darby Bible Public Domain
But no one puts a patch of new cloth on an old garment, for its filling up takes from the garment and a worse rent takes place.
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World Messianic Bible Public Domain
No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch would tear away from the garment, and a worse hole is made.
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Webster's Bible Public Domain
No man putteth a piece of new cloth to an old garment: for that which is put in to fill it up, taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.
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Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
No one puts a new patch on old clothes, otherwise it will shrink and make the tear worse.
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Bible in Basic English Public Domain
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.
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Text-Critical English NT CC BY 4.0
No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch would pull away from the garment, and a worse tear would be made.
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Tyndale New Testament (1534) Public Domain
Noo man peceth and olde garment with a pece of newe cloothe. For then taketh he awaye the pece agayne from the garmet and the rent ys made greater.
Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).
Word by word
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- Appears 2× in the Greek New Testament
- First appears here
- Part of Speech
- Noun
- Case
- Genitive
- Number
- Singular
- Gender
- Neuter
Full Thayer's Definition
- οὐδεὶς oudeís G3762 “nothing” Adjective, Nominative, Singular, Masculine, Negative
- δὲ dé G1161 “but” Conjunction
- ἐπιβάλλει epibállō G1911 “to cast upon” Verb, Present, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular
- ἐπίβλημα epíblēma G1915 “that which is added” Noun, Accusative, Singular, Neuter
- ῥάκους rhákos G4470 “cloth” Noun, Genitive, Singular, Neuter
- ἀγνάφου ágnaphos G46 “unprocessed” Adjective, Genitive, Singular, Neuter
- ἐπὶ epí G1909 “upon” Preposition
- ἱματίῳ himátion G2440 “garment” Noun, Dative, Singular, Neuter
- παλαιῷ palaiós G3820 “old” Adjective, Dative, Singular, Neuter
- αἴρει aírō G142 “to raise up” Verb, Present, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular
- γὰρ gár G1063 “for” Conjunction
- τὸ ho G3588 “the” Article, Nominative, Singular, Neuter
- πλήρωμα plḗrōma G4138 “fullness” Noun, Nominative, Singular, Neuter
- αὐτοῦ autós G846 “he” Personal pronoun, Genitive, Singular, Neuter
- ἀπὸ apó G575 “from” Preposition
- τοῦ ho G3588 “the” Article, Genitive, Singular, Neuter
- ἱματίου himátion G2440 “garment” Noun, Genitive, Singular, Neuter
- καὶ kaí G2532 “and” Conjunction
- χεῖρον cheírōn G5501 “worse” Adjective, Nominative, Singular, Neuter
- σχίσμα schísma G4978 “division” Noun, Nominative, Singular, Neuter
- γίνεται gínomai G1096 “to become” Verb, Present, Middle or Passive deponent, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular
About this verse
These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →
- 21
- words
- 19
- distinct lemmas
- Gospels
- section
Notable vocabulary
The rarest word here is ῥάκους cloth G4470 — appearing just 2 times in the whole Greek New Testament.
First appearance in Scripture
These words make their first canonical appearance in the Greek New Testament here:
Shared distinctive vocabulary
ῥάκους cloth G4470 occurs in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:
Cross-references
5Topical passages linked to Matthew 9:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.
- 1 Corinthians 3:1–2 Brothers, I couldn't speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.
- John 16:12 "I have yet many things to tell you, but you can't bear them now.
- Psalms 125:3 For the scepter of wickedness won't remain over the allotment of the righteous; So that the righteous won't use their hands to do evil.
- Isaiah 40:11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, [and] will gently lead those who have their young.
- 1 Corinthians 13:13 But now faith, hope, and love remain--these three. The greatest of these is love.
Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).
Lesson kit
Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.
Matthew, in the Gospels, opens this verse with 21 words (19 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is rhákos (“cloth”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.
Discussion questions
- How does “cloth” (rhákos) shape what this verse is saying?
- 8 words here appear for the first time in Scripture. What is being introduced at this debut?
- Mark 2:21 shares the word «cloth» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
- “garment” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
- These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
- Reading how The Biblical Illustrator and Joseph Benson's Commentary read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?
Things to notice
- 8 words make their first canonical appearance in Scripture here.
- These translations choose different wording for 22 words in this verse.
- “garment” occurs 2× in this single verse.
- 19 distinct Greek lemmas span 21 words in this verse.
Commentary
Notes on Matthew 9:16 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.
Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →
The Biblical Illustrator
Joseph S. Exell
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Joseph Benson's Commentary
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale Open Resources
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Bengel's Gnomon
Johann Albrecht Bengel
Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Meyer's Critical & Exegetical Commentary
Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer
Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Expositor's Greek Testament
ed. W. Robertson Nicoll
The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Geneva Bible translators
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill's Exposition
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Trapp's Complete Commentary
John Trapp
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
Daniel D. Whedon
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Kretzmann's Popular Commentary
Paul E. Kretzmann
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The People's New Testament
B. W. Johnson
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes
Door43 World Missions Community
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alford’s Greek Testament
Henry Alford
Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
International Critical Commentary
International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament
Marvin R. Vincent
Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.