5:37–38
Jesus’ second parable/illustration teaches the same thing as the first. In this illustration, he compared his teaching to new wine. The traditions were like old animal skins that people used to make containers for storing wine. The Berean Standard Bible calls these containers “wineskins.” If a person put new wine into old wineskins, the skins would burst. Jesus’ new way was too different to fit into the old traditions of the Jewish people.
5:37a
And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And introduces another parable/illustration. Jesus gave this illustration to show again that he was teaching new things that did not fit the old traditions. Here are several possible ways to introduce this illustration:
• Connect this illustration to the first one by indicating that it was something further that Jesus said. For example:
⌊Jesus also said,⌋ “Here is a similar example…”
• Use a connector that indicates that this illustration is similar to the one in 5:36. For example:
Likewise
-or-
In a similar way
-or-
Also (New Century Version)
no one: As in 5:36, the word no one introduces a general statement that is true of everyone. See the note at 5:36b.
pours: In the context, the word pours refers to putting wine into a container in order to store it there. People put the wine into wineskins.
new wine into old wineskins: When new wine ferments, it produces gas. This builds up pressure and causes the wineskin to stretch or expand. New wine would be put into new skins because these could stretch. Old wineskins would have been stretched once before. They would no longer be able to stretch any further.
new wine: The term wine describes an alcoholic drink. It is made from the juice of a fruit called grapes. When grape juice ferments, it becomes wine. The phrase new wine refers to wine that has been pressed recently from grapes and is not yet fermented (or is just beginning to ferment).
In some areas, people may not be familiar with grapes or with wine. If that is true in your area, some other ways to translate new wine are:
• Use a general term for an alcoholic drink that is just beginning to ferment.
• Use a specific term for new wine that can also be used to refer to alcoholic drinks in general. For example:
new millet beer
-or-
new palm wine
-or-
something like new palm wine
• Use a descriptive phrase for new wine. For example:
fermenting fruit juice
-or-
fermenting grape juice
-or-
grape juice that is beginning to ferment
wineskins: The Jews used animal skins to make containers for storing their wine. (The most common animal skin they used was goat.)
Since wineskins are not common in many areas of the world, in many languages, you may need to use a descriptive phrase. For example:
wine containers made of goat skin
In some cultures people do not use animal skins to store wine. They may not understand the reason why people did not put new wine in old skins. If that is true in your culture, consider explaining this in a footnote. For example:
Wineskins were made out of whole goat hides that had the neck and feet openings tied shut. New wineskins were able to expand as the wine fermented. Old wineskins had already been stretched and were no longer able to stretch further.
5:37b
If he does: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as If he does was also used in 5:36c. It introduces the consequences of doing what 5:37b indicated that no one normally does. Use a natural connector in your language for this context.
the new wine will burst the skins: The verb will burst means “will break.” It is implied that as the wine ferments, it releases a gas. This gas puts pressure on the skins, with the result that they burst. The skins were fastened shut so that there was no way for the gas to escape.
Some other ways to translate this are:
The new wine would swell and burst the old skins. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
when the new wine bubbles, the old container will break
5:37c
the wine will spill: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the wine will spill means “the wine will come pouring out.” The first undesirable result of putting new wine into old wineskins is that the new wine will be wasted.
and the wineskins will be ruined: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ruined also means “destroyed” (as in the Revised Standard Version). This is the second undesirable result.
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