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Advocates of the King James Version assume that it is the apex of Bible translations for the English-speaking world. Later translations are assumed to have diluted the truth, or to embody a humanist agenda.
What if the King James Version had a serious error, not in an obscure part of the Old Testament, or buried in the Epistles, but in the Gospels themselves, in the teaching of Jesus? Daniel B. Wallace, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and author of a widely used text on New Testament Greek, says that it does.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
--Matthew 23:24 KJV
24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
--Matthew 23:24 NIV
The KJV pictures the Pharisee squinting to see a gnat. All other translations point to the Pharisees straining wine to remove small insects such as gnats. It is known that they did this, or had the women or the servants do it. A Pharisee squinting to get a better look at a gnat, on the other hand, is pointless.
By using the wrong preposition, "at" instead of "out," the KJV causes the reader to use the wrong definition of "strain." This word, "strain," has a whole series of definitions. It is both a noun and a verb and can be used as a verb without an object and as a verb with an object. In this case the choice is between two uses of "strain" as a verb with an object. Dictionary.com lists seven uses of "strain" as a verb with object. The KJV uses Defintion 2 while the other translations use Definition 7.
2. to exert to the utmost:
to strain one's ears to catch a sound.
7. to pour (liquid containing solid matter) through a filter, sieve, or the like in order to hold back the denser solid constituents: to strain gravy.
While the average reader might skip over this, the KJV makes a distinct error in the teaching of Jesus, using the wrong definition of "strain," and so portraying the wrong action.
Professor Wallace is clear about the KJV giving a wrong translation of this verse.
<< Fifth, the KJV includes one very definite error in translation, which even KJV advocates would admit. In Matthew 23:24 the KJV has ‘strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.’ But the Greek has ‘strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.’ >>
Why I Do Not Think the King James Bible Is the Best Translation Available Today
Another comment from Professor Wallace:
<< For example, in Matthew 23.24 the KJV says, “Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.” The Greek means “strain out a gnat.” >>
Fifteen Myths about Bible Translation/
This error in the KJV does not change any doctrines but neither does it help us to understand the teaching of Jesus.
What if the King James Version had a serious error, not in an obscure part of the Old Testament, or buried in the Epistles, but in the Gospels themselves, in the teaching of Jesus? Daniel B. Wallace, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and author of a widely used text on New Testament Greek, says that it does.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
--Matthew 23:24 KJV
24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
--Matthew 23:24 NIV
The KJV pictures the Pharisee squinting to see a gnat. All other translations point to the Pharisees straining wine to remove small insects such as gnats. It is known that they did this, or had the women or the servants do it. A Pharisee squinting to get a better look at a gnat, on the other hand, is pointless.
By using the wrong preposition, "at" instead of "out," the KJV causes the reader to use the wrong definition of "strain." This word, "strain," has a whole series of definitions. It is both a noun and a verb and can be used as a verb without an object and as a verb with an object. In this case the choice is between two uses of "strain" as a verb with an object. Dictionary.com lists seven uses of "strain" as a verb with object. The KJV uses Defintion 2 while the other translations use Definition 7.
2. to exert to the utmost:
to strain one's ears to catch a sound.
7. to pour (liquid containing solid matter) through a filter, sieve, or the like in order to hold back the denser solid constituents: to strain gravy.
While the average reader might skip over this, the KJV makes a distinct error in the teaching of Jesus, using the wrong definition of "strain," and so portraying the wrong action.
Professor Wallace is clear about the KJV giving a wrong translation of this verse.
<< Fifth, the KJV includes one very definite error in translation, which even KJV advocates would admit. In Matthew 23:24 the KJV has ‘strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.’ But the Greek has ‘strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.’ >>
Why I Do Not Think the King James Bible Is the Best Translation Available Today
Another comment from Professor Wallace:
<< For example, in Matthew 23.24 the KJV says, “Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.” The Greek means “strain out a gnat.” >>
Fifteen Myths about Bible Translation/
This error in the KJV does not change any doctrines but neither does it help us to understand the teaching of Jesus.