Matthew 23:14


King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

New American Standard Bible


NASB 1995
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

NASB 1977
[“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation.]

Legacy Standard Bible
[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

Amplified Bible
[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you swallow up widows’ houses, and to cover it up you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.]

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and make long prayers just for show. This is why you will receive a harsher punishment.

American Standard Version
- - -

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, pretenders, for you shut the Kingdom of Heaven before the children of men, for you are not entering, and those who are entering you do not permit to enter!

Douay-Rheims Bible
Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because you devour the houses of widows, praying long prayers. For this you shall receive the greater judgment.

English Revised Version


International Standard Version
"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and say long prayers to cover it up. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation!

Literal Standard Version
[[Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you eat up the houses of the widows, and for a pretense make long prayers, because of this you will receive more abundant judgment.]]

Majority Standard Bible
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

New Heart English Bible
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you shut up the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter.

Webster's Bible Translation
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

Weymouth New Testament


World English Bible
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don’t enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter.

Young's Literal Translation
'Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye eat up the houses of the widows, and for a pretence make long prayers, because of this ye shall receive more abundant judgment.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Woes to Scribes and Pharisees
……

Cross References
Matthew 23:13
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

Mark 12:40
They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation."

Luke 20:47
They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation."


Treasury of Scripture

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore you shall receive the greater damnation.

for ye.

Exodus 22:22-24
Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child…

Job 22:9
Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

Job 31:16-20
If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; …

long.

therefore.

Matthew 23:33
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Matthew 11:24
But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

Luke 12:48
But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

Jump to Previous
Abundant Allow Condemnation Damnation Devour Enter Entering Greater Heaven Houses Hypocrites Judgment Kingdom Pharisees Prayer Prayers Pretence Pretense Receive Scribes Shut Widows Wo Woe Yourselves
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Abundant Allow Condemnation Damnation Devour Enter Entering Greater Heaven Houses Hypocrites Judgment Kingdom Pharisees Prayer Prayers Pretence Pretense Receive Scribes Shut Widows Wo Woe Yourselves
Matthew 23
1. Jesus admonishes the people to follow good doctrine, not bad examples
5. His disciples must beware of their ambition.
13. He denounces eight woes against their hypocrisy and blindness,
34. and prophesies of the destruction of Jerusalem.














(14) Ye devour widows' houses.--The avarice thus described may have attained its end either (1) by using the advantages which they possessed, as the jurists and notaries of the time, to press unjust claims against wealthy widows, or to become their heirs, or (2) by leading devout women, under the show of piety, to bestow on them their estates or houses. To minister to the maintenance of a scribe was, they taught, the best use of wealth. The "long prayer" refers probably to the well-known Eighteen Prayers, which formed the standard of the Pharisee's devotion. The whole verse, it may be noted, is wanting in many MSS., and may have been inserted here from Mark 12:40 or Luke 20:47.

Verse 14. - Second woe - against rapacity and hypocrisy. There is some doubt about the genuineness of this verse, and our Revisers have expunged it from their text, relegating it to the margin. It is omitted by א, B, D, L, Z, some copies of the Vulgate and some versions; on the other hand, it is found in E, F, G, H, K, M, and other later uncials, and in the received Vulgate and Syriac Versions. Critics reject it as a supposed interpolation from Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47. At any rate, whether spoken now or at another time, it is undoubtedly an utterance of Christ, and to be received with all reverence. Ye devour widows' houses. Women who have lost their natural protector become their prey. To these they attach themselves, winning them over by flattery and fraud, and persuading them to assist them with their substance to the ruin of their fortunes. God had always defended the cause of widows, and had urged his people to deal gently and mercifully with them (see Deuteronomy 10:18; Deuteronomy 27:19; Psalm 68:5; Isaiah 1:17; Luke 18:3-7). This woe is followed in St. Luke by the episode of the widow's mite (Luke 20:47; Luke 21:1-4). And for a pretence make long prayer; or, and that, making long prayers for a pretence. They put on an appearance of extraordinary devotion, that they might more easily secure the favour of the widows; or else they exacted large sums of money, engaging to offer continual prayers for the donors (compare St. Paul's words in 2 Timothy 3:6). Thus these hypocrites made a gain of godliness at the expense of the most helpless members of the community. Greater (περισσότερον, more abundant) damnation. No condemnation in this world or the next can be more justly awarded than to him who adds hypocrisy to covetousness, and makes religion a cloke for cruel rapacity. The comparative may refer to "the lengthened hypocritical prayers which went before" (Lange).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Woe
Οὐαὶ (Ouai)
Interjection
Strong's 3759: Woe!, alas!, uttered in grief or denunciation.

to you,
ὑμῖν (hymin)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You.

scribes
γραμματεῖς (grammateis)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1122: (a) in Jerusalem, a scribe, one learned in the Jewish Law, a religious teacher, (b) at Ephesus, the town-clerk, the secretary of the city, (c) a man of learning generally.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

Pharisees,
Φαρισαῖοι (Pharisaioi)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5330: A Pharisee, one of the Jewish sect so called.

hypocrites!
ὑποκριταί (hypokritai)
Noun - Vocative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5273: (literal: a stage-player), a hypocrite, dissembler, pretender.

For
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: That, since, because; may introduce direct discourse.

you devour
κατεσθίετε (katesthiete)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 2719: To eat up, eat till it is finished, devour, squander, annoy, injure.

the
τὰς (tas)
Article - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article.

houses
οἰκίας (oikias)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3614: A house, household, dwelling; goods, property, means.

of widows,
χηρῶν (chērōn)
Adjective - Genitive Feminine Plural
Strong's 5503: A widow.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

as a pretext
προφάσει (prophasei)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4392: A pretext, an excuse.

are praying
προσευχόμενοι (proseuchomenoi)
Verb - Present Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 4336: To pray, pray for, offer prayer.

at great length.
μακρὰ (makra)
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3117: Long, distant, far; of long duration.

Because of
διὰ (dia)
Preposition
Strong's 1223: (a) genitive: through, throughout, by the instrumentality of, (b) accusative: through, on account of, by reason of, for the sake of, because of.

this,
τοῦτο (touto)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3778: This; he, she, it.

you shall receive
λήψεσθε (lēpsesthe)
Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 2983: (a) to receive, get, (b) to take, lay hold of.

greater
περισσότερον (perissoteron)
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Singular - Comparative
Strong's 4053: More, greater, excessive, abundant, exceedingly, vehemently; noun: preeminence, advantage.

condemnation.
κρίμα (krima)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 2917: (a) a judgment, a verdict; sometimes implying an adverse verdict, a condemnation, (b) a case at law, a lawsuit.


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NT Gospels: Matthew 23:14 But woe to you scribes and Pharisees (Matt. Mat Mt)
Matthew 23:13
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