The two sayings contained in verses 16-17 are in the form of proverbial sayings. In fact, Luke (5.36) specifically identifies them as parables (many languages will identify them as proverbs). Verse 16 describes a scene which is almost universally familiar. If a piece of unshrunk (that is, new) cloth is sewn on an old garment, the new patch will shrink when it is washed and make the hole even bigger than it was before. Old garment (Good News Translation “old coat”) may be translated “old piece of clothing.”

It may be necessary to make explicit that putting a piece of cloth on an old garment is to repair it. Puts may therefore be translated as “sews on,” “uses to repair,” or “uses to patch.”

Further, it is when the patched garment is washed that the patch shrinks and the tearing becomes worse. Some translations specify this: “For when the clothing is washed, the patch shrinks and it tears away from the cloth, making the tear worse.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .