Bible Dictionary
STRAIN
To strain is to filter liquid by removing small impurities. Jesus used the image of straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel to condemn attention to minor matters while neglecting greater righteousness.
Definition
To strain is to filter liquid by removing small impurities. The expression may describe carefully removing a tiny object while leaving much larger impurity unnoticed.
Biblical Usage
Jesus’ image of straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel condemns attention to small matters while overlooking greater impurity. The picture is of a drinking vessel from which tiny material is removed while immense impurity is ignored.
Historical Background
A later printing error changed “strain out” to “strain at” in some editions of the King James Version; the intended wording is “strain out.”
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>stran (diulizo, "to strain off," "to filter"): Mt 23:24, "Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel" The imagery is that of a drinking-vessel full of liquid, from which tiny impurities are carefully removed while immense masses of other impure matter (Le 11:4) are overlooked (compare Mt 7:3 f). The first edition of the King James Version read the same as the Revised Version (British and American), but in the later editions a misprint converted "strain out" into "strain at," an error that has never been corrected.</p>