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Bible expressions we still use
The blind leading the blind
Matthew 15, Luke 6 · Jesus on the Pharisees
Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem asked Jesus why his disciples broke “the tradition of the elders” by not washing their hands before they ate (Matthew 15:1–2). The Pharisees were a movement that kept such traditions strictly. When the disciples later told Jesus that the Pharisees were offended, he answered, “They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14); Luke gives the saying as a question (Luke 6:39). Blindness was common in the ancient Near East — from infections, desert glare, injury and old age — and the Law forbade putting a stumbling block before the blind (Leviticus 19:14). Pits were a real danger: cisterns were cut into the rock everywhere to catch rainwater, and the owner of an uncovered pit had to pay for an animal that fell in (Exodus 21:33–34).
Today “the blind leading the blind” describes people who know no more than those they are guiding — one new employee training another, or advice from someone who has never done the thing. It is said with a smile or as a complaint.
Key verses
Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots. Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?You must not curse the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.If a man opens or digs a pit and fails to cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.Sources
Adapted and shortened from the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers · CC BY-SA 4.0 — Pharisees; Blindness; Cistern
Adapted from Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary: articles chosen, shortened and retold in our own words (history, nature and daily life only) and, in languages other than English, machine-translated. The original work by Tyndale House Publishers is available for free at tyndaleopenresources.com.
