Matthew 23:24

Ye blind guides. See on v. 16.

Strain at. Gr. diulizo, “to strain,” as through a sieve. The clause should read, literally, “strain out the gnat,” that is, from drinking water (DA 617). The KJV use of the preposition “at” is a typographical error. Here Jesus again censures scribe and Pharisee for elaborate precautions taken in minor matters and for carelessness when it comes to things that are really important. The gnat and the camel were both unclean according to Levitical law (see on Lev. 11:4, 22, 23). The elaborate precautions taken against swallowing the most minute forms of (unclean) animal life, while gulping down one of the largest of unclean animals, the camel, are set side by side in one of the impressive hyperbolical figures for which Christ’s teaching was famous (cf. on Matt. 19:24).