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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 23:24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat,

A long condemnation of the religious leaders of the time. their focusing on small things, not big ones.

Spoken to
audience

Matthew 23:24 ὁδηγοὶ τυφλοί, διυλίζοντες τὸν κώνωπα τὴν δὲ κάμηλον καταπίνοντες.

KJV Verse

Matthew 23:24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

NIV Verse:

Matthew 23:24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

What His Listeners Heard:

Blind guides, filtering for that gnat, that, however, camel? Drinking it down.

Lost In Translation:

This verse, clearly humorous, may seem out of place in what the KJV translates as an angry diatribe, but it fits perfectly into the entertaining arguments that Jesus actually was making when correctly translated. This is the second time that he uses the name, "blind guides," in this section. Three of the words, "gnat," "strain," and "swallow," are only used by Jesus here. The "gnat" and "camel" both representing violations of the law, but contrasting their size.

The issue here is that Jewish law forbids eating most flying insects, except those like grasshoppers and crickets. According to Jewish law, camels are prohibited as food just like flying insects. As we saw in Matthew 19:24, the camel is Jesus's go-to image for describing a large size.

The language is straightforward, but  the word translated as "swallow" literally means "drink down." This makes the joke more clear since no one drinks a camel.

 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

Ye blind guides, which(IW) strain(WF) at(IW) a(WW) gnat, and(WW) swallow(WF) a(WW) camel.

KJV List (See full page for word-by-word analysis):
For analysis of each word of original Greek and biblical verses, click here.

Constantly Updated

My analysis standards and methods are constantly improving. New information on each verse is provided as articles are updated. It requires approximately two years for me to work through updating each of Jesus's verses.

What Jesus's Listeners Heard

The everyday meanings of the Greek words Jesus used were different than the definitions they have been given over time in biblical translation. The word translations here are based upon documents of his time such as the Greek Septuagint, not ideas unknown in his time.

About this Site

See what Jesus said in Greek and see how his words are changed in English translation. My goal is to translate Jesus's words as they were heard when he taught, not the way they are interpreted today. The work here resurrects the humor and cleverness of Jesus's words lost in translation.

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Each article provides detailed information on all the Greek words in each verse with links simplifying your own research. It compares the Greek to popular translations to show where words are confused, changed, left out, and added. This site offers research available nowhere else, such as how often Jesus uses a specific Greek word and links to a list of every verse in which he uses a given word.