Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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.
14. ye devour widows’ houses ] i. e. “consume their substance,” by illegal exaction or by working upon their religious feelings; a common form of rapacity. The Vatican and Sinaitic MSS. omit this verse, which occurs Mar 12:40, and Luk 20:47.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Devour widows houses – The word houses is used here to denote property or possessions of any kind. You take away or get possession of the property of widows by improper arts and pretences. This was done in two ways:
1. They claimed a very exact knowledge of the law and a perfect observance of it. They pretended to extraordinary justice toward the poor, friendship for the distressed, and willingness to aid those who were in embarrassed circumstances. They thus induced widows and poor people to commit the management of their property to them as guardians and executors, and then took advantage of them and defrauded them.
2. They put on the appearance of great sanctity, and induced many conscientious but credulous women to give them much, under pretence of devoting it to religious purposes.
Long prayer – Their prayers are said to have been often three hours in length. One rule among them, says Lightfoot, was to meditate an hour, then pray an hour, and then meditate another hour – all of which was included in their long prayers or devotions.
Damnation – Condemnation. The word here probably refers to future punishment. It does not always, however. It means, frequently, no more than condemnation, or the divine disapprobation of a certain course of conduct, as in 1Co 11:29; He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself; that is, he that eateth and drinketh in an unworthy manner disorderly, not with reverence – is guilty, and his conduct will be disapproved or condemned by God referring solely to the impropriety of the manner of partaking of the Lords supper, and not at all to the worthiness or unworthiness of the person. See the notes at that place. Compare Rom 14:23.
For a pretence – For appearance or show; in order that they might the better defraud poor people. They would not be condemned for making long prayers, but because they did it with an evil design. Public prayers should, however, be short, and always to the point. A man praying in a Sunday school should pray for the school, and, usually, not for everything else.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 14. See Clarke on Mt 23:13.
-Verse 14. Ye devour widows’ houses] On this subject I am in possession of nothing better than the following note of Dr. Whitby.
“This sect,” says Josephus, (Ant. l. xvii. chap. 3,) “pretended to a more exact knowledge of the law, on which account the women were subject to them, as pretending to be dear to God. And when Alexandra obtained the government, (Jewish War, b. I. ch. 4,) they insinuated themselves into her favour, as being the exactest sect of the Jews, and the most exact interpreters of the law, and, abusing her simplicity, did as they listed, remove and dispose, bind and loose, and even cut off men. They were in vogue for their long prayers, which they continued sometimes three hours; that perhaps they sold them, as do the Roman priests their masses, or pretended others should be more acceptable to God for them; and so might spoil devout widows by the gifts or salaries they expected from them. Now this being only a hypocritical pretence of piety, must be hateful to God, and so deserve a greater condemnation.”
Long prayer] For proofs of long prayers and vain repetitions among Jews, Mohammedans, and heathens, See Clarke on Mt 6:7.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Mark hath the same, Mar 12:40 and Luk 20:47. If any should think that long prayers are here condemned, he will be confuted by Luk 6:12, where he will find that our Saviour continued all night in prayer to God. It is the end of their long prayers which alone our Saviour blames, their making them a pretence to devour widows houses; which whether they did as interested in the civil power, (in which it is certain the Pharisees amongst the Jews were employed), or by virtue of their ecclesiastical power or influence, persuading silly women to give them their estates, or at least to give them a great part of them, to the service of the tabernacle, that they might pray for their souls, was an abomination to God, not only for the hypocrisy of such prayers, designed for another end than they pretended, but because God had taken upon him the special care and protection of the widows. As our Saviour had before blamed their religious acts for the ostentation in them, seeking only their own honour and applause, so he here blames them for their covetous design in them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. Woe unto you, scribes andPharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, &c.Takingadvantage of the helpless condition and confiding character of”widows,” they contrived to obtain possession of theirproperty, while by their “long prayers” they made thembelieve they were raised far above “filthy lucre.” So much”the greater damnation” awaits them. What a lifelikedescription of the Romish clergy, the true successors of thosescribes!
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,…. The same character is given as before, and the same woe denounced, and a fresh reason given of it:
for ye devour widows’ houses; that is, the goods in the houses of such as were left with fatherless children, and but little to support them; who being left alone, and none to advise them, and being weak, and prone to superstition; these greedy dogs, as Isaiah calls them, who could never have enough, easily imposed upon them, wormed them out of all their substance, stripped them bare of the necessaries of life, prevailed on them to sell their houses and goods, and bestow them on them; or got their little estates into their hands, pretending to take care, and dispose of them for them, to their advantage:
and for a pretence make long prayers: as if they were very holy, good men; or pretended that the substance of these widows, which they got into their hands, was for their long prayers for them; or they made long prayers for them in return for their substance. Maimonides x says, that
“the ancient saints, or good men, used to stay an hour before prayer, and an hour after prayer, and “prolonged”, or “held an hour in prayer”:”
and this being three times a day, nine hours every day, as is observed in the Talmud y, were spent in this manner; and on this account they got the character of very devout and religious men, and hereby covered all their avarice, rapine, and oppression of the poor: but God will not be mocked;
therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation; both on account of their plundering and distressing the poor, the widows, and the fatherless; and also because of their hypocrisy in doing this under the cover of religion and holiness. Hence it appears, that there are degrees of punishment in hell, and that hypocrites, and all such who oppress the poor, under the mask of godliness, supposing gain to be that, will be partakers of the greatest degree of it. In Munster’s Hebrew Gospel it is called , “a long judgment”, or “damnation”, in allusion to their long prayers: and is the very reverse of what they expect on account of them: they say z
“three things prolong a man’s days and years,
, “he that is long in his prayer””
is the first mentioned; and he that is long at his prayer, it is an excellency, they say; but instead of a long and happy life, he shall have a long damnation. This verse is left out in some copies, and in others it stands before the former; in which order it is read in the Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions.
x Hilch. Tephillah, c. 4. sect. 16. y T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 32. 2. z Ib. fol. 54. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
14. For you devour widows’ houses. He now proceeds farther, for he not only accuses them of open crimes which demand hatred and detestation, but even tears away the disguises of virtues, by which they deceived the common people. If it be objected, that there was no need of reproving those things which could do no harm by their example, we ought to recollect that it was impossible to promote the salvation of those who were held bound by the errors of the scribes, unless they turned away entirely from such persons. This reason, therefore, constrained Christ to expose the vain appearance of virtues, which nourishes superstitions.
And that under the pretense of a long prayer. He says in general that, even when they appear to do what is right, they wickedly abuse the pretense of religion. Long prayers contained some evidence of remarkable piety; for the more holy a man is, the more eminently is he devoted to prayer. But Christ says that the Pharisees and scribes were so impure, that even the chief part of the worship of God was not used by them without committing sin, because constancy in prayer was with them, trap for base gain. For they sold their prayers in exactly the same manner as hirelings dispose of their daily labor. (97) Hence also we infer that our Lord does not exactly reprove long prayers, as if in itself it were an impropriety—particularly since pastors ought to be eminently devoted to prayer —but to condemn this abuse, because a thing laudable in itself was turned to a wicked purpose. For when men aim at gain by means of hired prayers, the more fervent the appearance of what they call devotion becomes, the more is the name of God profaned. And as this false conviction had been long and deeply seated in the minds of the common people, on this account Christ employs harsher threatenings; for the pollution of so sacred a thing was no light offense. That it was chiefly widows that were imposed on need not excite surprise, because silly women are more prone to superstition, and therefore it has always been customary for base men to make gain of. them. Thus Paul brings a charge against the false teachers of his age, that they
lead captive silly women laden with sins, (2Ti 3:6.)
(97) “ Que les mercenaires et ouvriers ont accoustumé de vendre leur labeur, et se loer à la journee;” — “as hirelings and laborers are wont to sell their labor, and to hire themselves out for the day.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(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 Pharisees devotion. The whole verse, it may be noted, is wanting in many MSS., and may have been inserted here from Mar. 12:40 or Luk. 20:47.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Devour widows’ houses This was done sometimes by plotting with the children to deprive their widowed mother of her estate, and sometimes by inducing the widow to give up her estate to themselves for superstitious purposes. For this he pronounces the SECOND WOE. Long prayer It is not the length of the prayer which is their crime, but the fact that it is a mere pretence. It is used as a cloak to cover their rapacity. A very religious rabbi would pray nine hours a day. Greater damation The longer their prayers, the more their sin; for they were an appalling mockery of God.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The second woe:
v. 14. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer; therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. The Pharisees had little love for manual or mental labor, by which they might earn their living in an honest manner. As their religion was a mere cloak, so their religious observances were used for money-making schemes. Long prayers were their strong suit, such as were actually made, produced for the purpose, of which they informed the people that they possessed unusual merits and power. Women deprived of their natural protectors, widows whose feelings might easily be swayed, gladly paid for the service of long prayers made in their behalf. Such was the flimsy pretext by which the scribes and Pharisees gained property and riches. Isa 5:8. This form of graft was especially damnable because it included the abuse of God’s name, and was thus both blasphemy and robbery.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 23:14. For ye devour widows’ houses 2. This verse contains the second reason of the woes; because they committed the grossest iniquities, being covetous and rapacious under a cloke of religion; they devoured widows’ houses, and at the same time made long prayers in order to hide their villany. “This,” says Calvin, “was as if, pretending to kiss the feet of Christ, one should rise up, and audaciously spit in his face.” See Mar 12:40.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
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.
Ver. 14. Ye devour widows’ houses ] Though they pretended to be great fasters,Luk 18:12Luk 18:12 , yet their bellies prepared deceit, as Eliphaz hath it, Job 15:35 , and their throats (those open sepulchres) swallowed up whole houses (such was their covetousness), and that of widows (such was their cruelty), and that under a pretence of long prayers, which was their hypocrisy; for while their lips seemed to pray, they were but chewing that morsel, that murdering morsel that made them receive the greater damnation. Multi in terris manducant, quod apud inferos digerant, saith Augustine. Many devour that on earth that they must digest in hell, where the never dying worm will feed greedily upon all such covetous caitiffs (wretches) as have the greedy worm under their tongues, and their ill-gotten goods gotten already into their bowels, as these Pharisees had; which therefore God shall fetch thence again with a vengeance, , Luk 11:41 ; Job 20:15 .
Make long prayers ] God takes not men’s prayers by tale, but by weight. He respecteth not the arithmetic of our prayers, how many they are; nor the rhetoric of our prayers, how eloquent they are; nor the geometry of our prayers, how long they are; nor the music of our prayers, the sweetness of our voice, nor the logic of our prayers, or the method of them, but the divinity of our prayers is that which he so much esteemeth. He looketh not for any James with horny knees through assiduity in prayer; nor for any Bartholomew with a century of prayers for the morning and as many for the evening, but St Paul, his frequency of praying with fervency of spirit, without all tedious length and vain babblings, this is it that God maketh most account of. It is not a servant’s going to and fro, but the despatch of his business that pleaseth his master. It is not the loudness of a preacher’s voice, but the holiness of the matter and the spirit of the preacher, that moveth a wise and intelligent hearer. So here, not gifts, but graces in prayer move the Lord. But these long prayers of the Pharisees were so much the worse, because thereby they sought to entitle God to their sin, yea, they merely mocked him, fleering a in his face.
a To laugh in a coarse, impudent, or unbecoming manner. D
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
14. ] In Luk 11:52 it is added the Key being, not the Key of , i.e. admitting to , Knowledge, but the Knowledge itself , the true simple interpretation of Scripture which would have admitted them, and caused them to admit others, into the Kingdom of Heaven by the recognition of Him of whom the Scriptures testify; whereas now by their perverse interpretations they had shut out both themselves and others from it. See a notable instance of this latter in Joh 9:24 . They shut the door as it were in men’s faces who were entering. On the interpolated Mat 23:13 , see notes in Mark ( Mar 12:40 ).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 23:14 . . Vide at Mat 6:2 . This epithet is applied to the scribes and Pharisees in each of the woes with terrific iteration. , ye shut the gates or the doors of the Kingdom of God, conceived as a city or palace. This the real effect of their action, not the ostensible. They claimed to be opening the Kingdom while really shutting it, and therein lay their hypocrisy. . .: as it were in men’s faces, when they are in the act of entering. , etc. Cf. Mat 5:20 . They thought themselves certainly within, but in the judgment of Jesus, with all their parade of piety, they were without. . , those in the mood to enter, in the act of entering; the reference is to sincere seekers after God, and the statement is that the scribes were the worst advisers such persons could go to: the effect of their teaching would be to keep them out. This is the position implied throughout the Sermon on the Mount and in Mat 11:28-30 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Woe, &c. Compare Mat 5:4; and see App-126.
make long prayer = praying at great length.
therefore = on this account. Greek. dia (App-104. Mat 23:2).
greater = more abundant.
damnation = judgment or condemnation.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
14.] In Luk 11:52 it is added -the Key being, not the Key of, i.e. admitting to, Knowledge, but the Knowledge itself, the true simple interpretation of Scripture which would have admitted them, and caused them to admit others, into the Kingdom of Heaven by the recognition of Him of whom the Scriptures testify; whereas now by their perverse interpretations they had shut out both themselves and others from it. See a notable instance of this latter in Joh 9:24. They shut the door as it were in mens faces who were entering. On the interpolated Mat 23:13, see notes in Mark (Mar 12:40).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 23:14. , …, ye devour, etc.) The extreme of avarice. To devour widows houses[997] is the most atrocious species, which is put for the whole class of rapacious actions.-, even)-, long) The word has here the force of an adverb.[998] Some MSS. also read suitably enough, , in which case it must be construed with , sc. with a long, or great pretence-i.e. they made of their prayers a great pretence, pretext, or plea for devouring widows houses. Herodian uses the expressions, , , , sc. a small, useful, little pretext or plea.-, …, ye shall receive, etc.) sc. as the reward of such prayers.- , more abundant damnation) He who acts ill is condemned; he who abuses that which is good, to adorn that which is bad, is condemned to sorer punishment.
[997] Who of all persons ought especially to be spared, but who, as being liable to be easily acted on by persuasion, are most open to oppression.-V. g.
[998] According to this reading, which is that of EM, it must be construed with , praying; and the words must be rendered, who pray long-i.e. who spend a long time in prayer-(I. B.)
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Woe
The best MSS. omit Mat 23:14.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
for ye: Josephus says that this sect pretended to a more exact knowledge of the law, on which account the women were subject to them, as pretending to be dear to God. Exo 22:22-24, Job 22:9, Job 31:16-20, Mar 12:40, Luk 20:47, 2Ti 3:6, Tit 1:10, Tit 1:11, 2Pe 2:14, 2Pe 2:15
long: That these were long we learn from Bab. Berachoth, where we are told that the very religious prayed nine hours a day.
therefore: Mat 23:33-36, Mat 11:24, Luk 12:48, Jam 3:1, 2Pe 2:3
Reciprocal: Num 23:1 – seven altars 2Sa 15:7 – pay 1Ki 21:9 – Proclaim a fast Job 20:18 – swallow Job 27:8 – General Psa 109:7 – and let Psa 145:18 – call upon Pro 4:17 – General Pro 21:27 – with a wicked mind Pro 30:14 – to devour Isa 1:15 – make many prayers Isa 3:12 – destroy Isa 5:8 – them Isa 10:2 – that widows Isa 32:6 – empty Isa 48:1 – not in truth Isa 57:12 – General Isa 58:4 – ye fast Isa 61:8 – I hate Jer 7:10 – come Jer 17:11 – he that Jer 51:34 – swallowed Eze 22:12 – greedily Eze 22:25 – they have devoured Amo 5:21 – hate Amo 8:4 – swallow Mic 2:2 – so Mic 2:9 – cast Zec 7:10 – oppress Zec 11:5 – possessors Mal 3:5 – a swift Mat 6:1 – to be Mat 6:5 – thou shalt not Mat 7:5 – Thou hypocrite Mat 23:13 – woe Luk 5:33 – and make Luk 16:14 – who Luk 19:46 – General Joh 10:10 – thief Act 6:1 – their Act 19:27 – that not Rom 2:21 – dost thou steal Rom 13:2 – receive 1Co 6:10 – thieves Phi 1:18 – whether 1Th 2:5 – a cloak 1Ti 5:3 – widows 1Ti 6:5 – supposing 1Ti 6:10 – the love 1Pe 2:16 – a cloak
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3:14
Devour is from KATESTHIO which Thayer defines at this place, “To devour i. e., forcibly appropriate.” Houses is from OIKIA and the same lexicon defines it in this passage, “Property, wealth, goods.” They took advantage of the unfortunate widows who were helpless because of the power of the scribes and Pharisees. After enlarging their own estates at the unjust expense of the widows, they came to the places of devotion and uttered prayers that were unusually long. Greater damnation.. The Bible speaks of only one Gehenna or lake of fire into which the unsaved will be cast after the judgment, therefore the actual punishment will be the same for all who are put into that place. The second word in italics also means condemnation and applies to the estimate that the Lord will place on the wrong deeds of these men. A judge may sentence two men to prison for life, yet he may utter a severer condemnation upon one while in his speech of pronouncing sentence than upon the other.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
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.
[Ye devour widows’ houses.] The scribes and Pharisees were ingenious enough for their own advantage. Hear one argument among many, forged upon the anvil of their covetousness, a little rudely drawn, but gainful enough: “The Lord saith, ‘Make me an ark of shittim wood.’ Hence it is decided (say they) in behalf of a disciple of the wise men, that his fellow citizens are bound to perform his servile work for him.” — O money, thou mistress of art and mother of wit! So he that was preferred to be president of the council, was to be maintained and enriched by the council! See the Gloss on Babylonian Taanith.
They angled with a double hook among the people for respect, and by respect for gain.
I. As doctors of the law: where they, first and above all things, instilled into their disciples and the common people, that a wise man, or a master, was to be respected above all mortal men whatsoever. Behold the rank and order of benches according to these judges! “A wise man is to take place of a king; a king of a high priest; a high priest of a prophet; a prophet of one anointed for war; one anointed for war of a president of the courses; a president of the courses of the head of a family; the head of a family of a counsellor; a counsellor of a treasurer; a treasurer of a private priest; a private priest of a Levite; a Levite of an Israelite; an Israelite of a bastard; a bastard of a Nethinim; a Nethinim of a proselyte; a proselyte of a freed slave. But when is this to be? Namely, when they are alike as to other things: but, indeed, if a bastard be a disciple, or a wise man, and the high priest be unlearned, the bastard is to take place of him. A wise man is to be preferred before a king: for if a wise man die, he hath not left his equal; but if a king die, any Israelite is fit for a kingdom.”
This last brings to my mind those words of Ignatius the martyr, if indeed they are his, in his tenth epistle: My son, saith he, honour God and the king: but I say, ‘Honour God as the cause and Lord of all: the bishop as the chief priest, bearing the image of God; in respect of his rule bearing God’s image, in respect of his priestly office, Christ’s; and, after him, we ought to honour the king also.’
II. Under a pretence of mighty devotion, but especially under the goodly show of long prayers, they so drew over the minds of devout persons to them, especially of women, and among them of the richer widows, that by subtle attractives they either drew out or wrested away their goods and estates. Nor did they want nets of counterfeit authority, when from the chair they pronounced, according to their pleasures, of the dowry and estate befalling a widow, and assumed to themselves the power of determining concerning those things. Of which matter, as it is perplexed with infinite difficulties and quirks, you may read, if you have leisure, the treatises Jevamoth, Chetuboth; and Gittin.
Concerning the length of their prayers, it may suffice to produce the words of the Babylon Gemara in Beracoth; “The religious anciently used to tarry an hour [meditating before they began their prayers]: whence was this? R. Joshua Ben Levi saith, ‘It was because the Scripture saith, Blessed are they who sit in thy house.’ R. Joshua Ben Levi saith also, ‘He that prays ought to tarry an hour after prayers: as it is said, The just shall praise thy name, the upright shall sit before thy face ‘: it is necessary, therefore, that he should stay [meditating] an hour before prayers, and an hour after; and the religious anciently used to stay an hour before prayers, an hour they prayed, and an hour they stayed after prayers. Since, therefore, they spent nine hours eery day about their prayers, how did they perform the rest of the law? and how did they take care of their worldly affairs? Why herein, in being religious, both the law was performed, and their own business well provided for.” And in the same place, “Long prayers make a long life.”
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mat 23:14. This verse, though misplaced, is a part of the word of God (Mar 12:40; Luk 20:47).
Ye devour widows houses, i.e., seize upon the property of the unprotected, here represented by a particular class.
Even while, the force of and is best represented thus.
For a pretence ye make long prayer.The guilt was thus aggravated and the greater damnation, or condemnation, is threatened. There are many ways of swindling the defenceless, but to do it with pretended piety, is worst of all. Priestly Pharisaism very early showed itself in securing legacies, so that the widows were left destitute, nor has this form of sin altogether ceased.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The second woe denounced against the Pharisees, is for their gross hypocrisy, in colouring over their covetousness with a pretence of religion; making long prayers in the temple and synagogues for widows, and thereupon persuading them to give bountifully to the corban, or the common treasure of the temple, some part of which was employed for their maintenance.
Learn, 1. It is no new thing for designing hypocrites to cover the foulest transgessions with the cloak of religion. The Pharisees make long prayers a cover of their covetousness.
2. That to make use of religion in policy for worldly advantage sake, is the way to be damned with a vengeance for religion sake: Woe unto you Scribes &c.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Verse 14
Houses; estates.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
23:14 {6} Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and {o} for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
(6) It is a common thing among hypocrites to abuse the pretence of zeal when in reality they are exercising covetousness and extortion.
(o) Literally, “under a colour of long praying”; and the word “and” signifies a double wickedness in them: the one, that they devoured widows goods: the other that they did it under a pretence of godliness.