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Matthew 23:14

Made Simple — Modern English Translation

Translated by Verse Made Simple Editorial

Read Translation Methodology

KJV ORIGINAL

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.

Close to the original. Clear modern English.

✦ MADE SIMPLE

You're in serious trouble, religious teachers and Pharisees — you're total hypocrites! You take advantage of widows and steal their homes, then put on this big show of praying long prayers to look holy. Because of this, your judgment is going to be way worse.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

Using religion to take advantage of vulnerable people will come back to bite you hard.

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Explore Similar Verses

Jesus is calling out the religious leaders: 'You're such hypocrites! You're so careful to give God exactly 10% of every tiny herb in your spice rack — your mint, your dill, your cumin — but you completely ignore the big stuff that actually matters: justice, mercy, and faith. Look, you should definitely keep doing the small things, but don't use them as an excuse to skip what really counts.'

You're in deep trouble, religious teachers and rule-followers — you're total fakes! You'll travel across oceans and continents to get one person to convert to your way of thinking, and when they do, you turn them into someone twice as headed for destruction as you already are.

But seriously, you religious leaders who are total hypocrites — you're actually blocking people from getting close to God. You won't step into his kingdom yourselves, and you're literally stopping others who are trying to get in.

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