diff --git a/src/bin/pg_rewind/file_ops.c b/src/bin/pg_rewind/file_ops.c
index 2424ede034f..649fdd15591 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_rewind/file_ops.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_rewind/file_ops.c
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ slurpFile(const char *datadir, const char *path, size_t *filesize)
 				 fullpath);
 
 	if (fstat(fd, &statbuf) < 0)
-		pg_fatal("could not stat file \"%s\" for reading: %m",
+		pg_fatal("could not stat file \"%s\": %m",
 				 fullpath);
 
 	len = statbuf.st_size;