The words “strain at a gnat” in Matthew 23:24c is said by some modernists to be an error made in 1611 that has been perpetuated in all subsequent editions. Their preferred wording is “strain out a gnat”, as Tyndale, Coverdale and the Geneva had. “To strain at ... This use is due to misunderstanding of the phrase ‘strain at a gnat’ in Matt. xxiii. 24. It has been asserted that ‘straine at’ in the Bible of 1611 is a misprint for ‘straine out’, the rendering of earlier versions ... But quots. 1583 and 1594 show that the translators of 1611 simply adopted a rendering that had already obtained currency. It was not a mistranslation, the meaning intended being ‘which strain the liquor if they find a gnat in it’. The phrase, however, was early misapprehended (perh. already by Shaks. in quot. 1609), the verb being supposed to mean ‘to make violent effort’ ... 1583 GREENE ... straining at a gnat ... 1594 J. KING ... strayning at gnats ... 1609 SHAKS. ... strain ... at the position.” (OED). Thus, straining at a gnat describes the action of using a filter to capture insects while pouring out wine, and not that the strainer is immediately withdrawn from the wine once something has been caught, since no one ordinary stops filtering until the wine ceases from being poured. This example and explanation should be indicative of all such objections that can be brought up.
|