Matthew 23:24

Matthew 23:24. Strain out the gnat, i.e., to filter wine, so as to avoid swallowing a gnat. The common version may have been intended to express this, but more probably contains a misprint. The saying is proverbial; this straining actually took place to avoid defilement (Leviticus 11:20; Leviticus 11:23; Leviticus 11:41-42). The same custom obtains among the Buddhists.

And swallow the camel, i.e., indulge in the greatest impurities. The camel was one of the largest of the impure animals forbidden for food. (Leviticus 11:4: it did not divide the hoof.) Besides to swallow it, would be to eat blood and what was strangled. What was impossible literally, is only too possible figuratively. The reality of Pharisaic sin exceeds the figure.