Even Funnier Than I Thought

There are people who claim that the Bible is a serious book.... and I'm not denying that it is.  It's only when they say that it is only a serious book, with no humor in it, that I have to ask myself, "Are we reading the same Bible?"

I'm not going to make a long list of verses and passages that I find humorous in Sacred Scriptures, but I will share two of my personal favorites, using the RSV-CE.

(Matthew 7:3-4)

"Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?"

Now there's an image for you... someone walking around with a great big log in his eye.
I can imagine the crowds who were listening laughing!

And then we have my absolute favorite:

(Matthew 23:24)

You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

I recently realized that I was missing out on a lot of the humor in the Bible, since the puns can so seldom be translated into English.  So I Googled "puns in the Bible", and discovered that the word for "gnat" was galma, and the word for "camel" was gamla.

So it turns out that it's not just a humorous verse... it is also a pun!

I was delighted to find out that this verse is even funnier than I thought it was!