Mark 12:40 (DBY)

Passage

who devour the houses of widows, and as a pretext make long prayers. These shall receive a severer judgment.

Nearby Context

Mark 12:38 And he said to them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, who like to walk about in long robes, and salutations in the marketplaces,

Mark 12:39 and first seats in the synagogues, and first places at suppers;

Mark 12:40 who devour the houses of widows, and as a pretext make long prayers. These shall receive a severer judgment.

Mark 12:41 And Jesus, having sat down opposite the treasury, saw how the crowd was casting money into the treasury; and many rich cast in much.

Mark 12:42 And a poor widow came and cast in two mites, which is a farthing.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "devour", "houses", "widows", "pretext", "make", "long", "prayers", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "devour" and "houses", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 39's "and first seats in the synagogues and..." into verse 41's "And Jesus having sat down opposite the...", so "devour" and "houses" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "devour" and "houses" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.