diff --git a/lib/liquid/errors.rb b/lib/liquid/errors.rb
index cac3910d..44f89bcc 100644
--- a/lib/liquid/errors.rb
+++ b/lib/liquid/errors.rb
@@ -1,22 +1,18 @@
 module Liquid
   class Error < ::StandardError
     attr_accessor :line_number
+    attr_accessor :markup_context
 
-    def self.render(e)
+    def to_s(with_prefix=true)
       str = ""
+      str << message_prefix if with_prefix
+      str << super()
 
-      if e.is_a?(SyntaxError)
-        str << "Liquid syntax error"
-      else
-        str << "Liquid error"
+      if markup_context
+        str << " "
+        str << markup_context
       end
 
-      if e.respond_to?(:line_number) && e.line_number
-        str << " (line #{e.line_number})"
-      end
-
-      str << ": "
-      str << e.message
       str
     end
 
@@ -24,6 +20,32 @@ module Liquid
       return unless token.respond_to?(:line_number)
       self.line_number = token.line_number
     end
+
+    def self.render(e)
+      if e.is_a?(Liquid::Error)
+        e.to_s
+      else
+        "Liquid error: #{e.to_s}"
+      end
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    def message_prefix
+      str = ""
+      if is_a?(SyntaxError)
+        str << "Liquid syntax error"
+      else
+        str << "Liquid error"
+      end
+
+      if line_number
+        str << " (line #{line_number})"
+      end
+
+      str << ": "
+      str
+    end
   end
 
   class ArgumentError < Error; end
diff --git a/lib/liquid/parser_switching.rb b/lib/liquid/parser_switching.rb
index 5c82063b..9dd19dbd 100644
--- a/lib/liquid/parser_switching.rb
+++ b/lib/liquid/parser_switching.rb
@@ -20,12 +20,12 @@ module Liquid
     def strict_parse_with_error_context(markup)
       strict_parse(markup)
     rescue SyntaxError => e
-      e.message << markup_context(markup)
+      e.markup_context = markup_context(markup)
       raise e
     end
 
     def markup_context(markup)
-      " in \"#{markup.strip}\"" 
+      "in \"#{markup.strip}\"" 
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/liquid/variable.rb b/lib/liquid/variable.rb
index 04d82fd8..1282a2be 100644
--- a/lib/liquid/variable.rb
+++ b/lib/liquid/variable.rb
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ module Liquid
     end
 
     def markup_context(markup)
-      " in \"{{#{markup}}}\""
+      "in \"{{#{markup}}}\""
     end
 
     def lax_parse(markup)
diff --git a/test/integration/error_handling_test.rb b/test/integration/error_handling_test.rb
index 61850fd7..ee072048 100644
--- a/test/integration/error_handling_test.rb
+++ b/test/integration/error_handling_test.rb
@@ -104,25 +104,28 @@ class ErrorHandlingTest < Minitest::Test
     err = assert_raises(SyntaxError) do
       Liquid::Template.parse(' {% if 1 =! 2 %}ok{% endif %} ', :error_mode => :strict)
     end
-    assert_equal 'Unexpected character = in "1 =! 2"', err.message
+    assert_equal 'Liquid syntax error: Unexpected character = in "1 =! 2"', err.message
 
     err = assert_raises(SyntaxError) do
       Liquid::Template.parse('{{%%%}}', :error_mode => :strict)
     end
-    assert_equal 'Unexpected character % in "{{%%%}}"', err.message
+    assert_equal 'Liquid syntax error: Unexpected character % in "{{%%%}}"', err.message
   end
 
   def test_warnings
     template = Liquid::Template.parse('{% if ~~~ %}{{%%%}}{% else %}{{ hello. }}{% endif %}', :error_mode => :warn)
     assert_equal 3, template.warnings.size
-    assert_equal 'Unexpected character ~ in "~~~"', template.warnings[0].message
-    assert_equal 'Unexpected character % in "{{%%%}}"', template.warnings[1].message
-    assert_equal 'Expected id but found end_of_string in "{{ hello. }}"', template.warnings[2].message
+    assert_equal 'Unexpected character ~ in "~~~"', template.warnings[0].to_s(false)
+    assert_equal 'Unexpected character % in "{{%%%}}"', template.warnings[1].to_s(false)
+    assert_equal 'Expected id but found end_of_string in "{{ hello. }}"', template.warnings[2].to_s(false)
     assert_equal '', template.render
   end
 
   def test_warning_line_numbers
     template = Liquid::Template.parse("{% if ~~~ %}\n{{%%%}}{% else %}\n{{ hello. }}{% endif %}", :error_mode => :warn, :line_numbers => true)
+    assert_equal 'Liquid syntax error (line 1): Unexpected character ~ in "~~~"', template.warnings[0].message
+    assert_equal 'Liquid syntax error (line 2): Unexpected character % in "{{%%%}}"', template.warnings[1].message
+    assert_equal 'Liquid syntax error (line 3): Expected id but found end_of_string in "{{ hello. }}"', template.warnings[2].message
     assert_equal 3, template.warnings.size
     assert_equal [1,2,3], template.warnings.map(&:line_number)
   end