SEV Biblia, Chapter 23:14
¡Ay de vosotros, escribas y fariseos, hipcritas! Porque comis las casas de las viudas, y por pretexto hacis larga oracin; por esto llevaris mas grave juicio.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 23:14
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 pretense 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 the notes on Matthew vi. 7.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 14. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites , etc.] 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 says, that the ancient saints, or good men, used to stay an hour before prayer, and an hour after prayer, h[ hlptb kyramw 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 f1256 , 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 Munsters Hebrew Gospel it is called wra jpm , 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 f1257 three things prolong a mans days and years, wtlptb yramh , 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.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 13-33 - The scribes and Pharisees were enemies to the gospel of Christ, an therefore to the salvation of the souls of men. It is bad to keep awa from Christ ourselves, but worse also to keep others from him. Yet it is no new thing for the show and form of godliness to be made a cloa to the greatest enormities. But dissembled piety will be reckone double iniquity. They were very busy to turn souls to be of their party. Not for the glory of God and the good of souls, but that the might have the credit and advantage of making converts. Gain being their godliness, by a thousand devices they made religion give way to their worldly interests. They were very strict and precise in smalle matters of the law, but careless and loose in weightier matters. It is not the scrupling a little sin that Christ here reproves; if it be sin, though but a gnat, it must be strained out; but the doing that and then swallowing a camel, or, committing a greater sin. While the would seem to be godly, they were neither sober nor righteous. We ar really, what we are inwardly. Outward motives may keep the outsid clean, while the inside is filthy; but if the heart and spirit be mad new, there will be newness of life; here we must begin with ourselves The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was like the ornament of a grave, or dressing up a dead body, only for show. The deceitfulness of sinners' hearts appears in that they go down the streams of the sins of their own day, while they fancy that they shoul have opposed the sins of former days. We sometimes think, if we ha lived when Christ was upon earth, that we should not have despised an rejected him, as men then did; yet Christ in his Spirit, in his word in his ministers, is still no better treated. And it is just with God to give those up to their hearts' lusts, who obstinately persist i gratifying them. Christ gives men their true characters.
Greek Textus Receptus
{VAR1: ουαι 3759 INJ } {VAR2: ουαι 3759 INJ δε 1161 CONJ } υμιν 5213 P-2DP γραμματεις 1122 N-VPM και 2532 CONJ φαρισαιοι 5330 N-VPM υποκριται 5273 N-VPM οτι 3754 CONJ κλειετε 2808 5719 V-PAI-2P την 3588 T-ASF βασιλειαν 932 N-ASF των 3588 T-GPM ουρανων 3772 N-GPM εμπροσθεν 1715 PREP των 3588 T-GPM ανθρωπων 444 N-GPM υμεις 5210 P-2NP γαρ 1063 CONJ ουκ 3756 PRT-N εισερχεσθε 1525 5736 V-PNI-2P ουδε 3761 ADV τους 3588 T-APM εισερχομενους 1525 5740 V-PNP-APM αφιετε 863 5719 V-PAI-2P εισελθειν 1525 5629 V-2AAN
