Bible Strands
Matthew 23:14
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
King James Version
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Study note
Setting — Jesus delivers this pronouncement to the scribes and Pharisees immediately after condemning them for blocking access to the kingdom of heaven and refusing to enter it themselves.
The words — The supplied Greek lists κατεσθίετε (katesthiete), literally "you devour," describing the active destruction of widows' property, and ὑποκριταί (hupokritai), meaning "hypocrites," identifying their false religious performance.
The thread — This verse functions as a structural link in a continuous sequence of judgments, repeating the "Woe" formula directed at the same group in Matthew 23:13 and Matthew 23:15.
Why it lands — The text reports that religious leaders exploit vulnerable people while using extended prayer as a cover, demanding that readers identify whether their own practices conceal exploitation behind outward piety.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.