Luke 5:34-35

5:34 So ¹  Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the wedding guests ²  fast while the bridegroom ³  is with them, can you? ⁴  5:35 But those days are coming, and when the bridegroom is taken from them, ⁵  at that time ⁶  they will fast.”

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¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ pronouncement is a result of their statements about his disciples.

² tn Grk “the sons of the wedding hall,” an idiom referring to guests at the wedding, or more specifically, friends of the bridegroom present at the wedding celebration (L&N 11.7).

³ 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).

⁴ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “can you?”).

⁵ sn The statement when the bridegroom is 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 9:18ff.

⁶ tn Grk “then in those days.”