Mark 12:40 (LSB)

Passage

who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

Nearby Context

Mark 12:38 And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who want to walk around in long robes, and want respectful greetings in the marketplaces,

Mark 12:39 and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,

Mark 12:40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

Mark 12:41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the crowd was putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.

Mark 12:42 And a poor widow came and put in two lepta, which amount to a quadrans.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 39's "and best seats in the synagogues and..." into verse 41's "And He sat down opposite the treasury...", so "condemn" and "devour" 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 "condemn" and "devour" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.