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Matthew 9:9-17

Jesus Calls Matthew

9 ^aAs Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called ^bMatthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

10 And as Jesus ^{▼

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Greek he} reclined at table in the house, behold, many ^dtax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples ^e“Why does your teacher eat with ^ftax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn ^gwhat this means ^h‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For ⁱI came not to call the righteous ^jbut sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

14 Then ^kthe disciples of John came to him, saying ^l“Why do we and ^mthe Pharisees fast ^{▼

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Some manuscripts add much, or often} but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, ^o“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? ^pThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^qthen they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old ^rwineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”