Mar 12:40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers...
Mar 12:40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.
Alternative: Which eat up the families of the bereaved on the pretext of making lengthy prayers. This is why they shall receive an extraordinary judgment.
Wordplay: Christ brings together the idea of getting the best of everything from the previous two verses (here and here), with getting an "extraordinary judgment." The idea that this will be a punishment is implied subtly and humorously, not stated baldly as in the the translation.
Hidden meaning: The word used for "house" refers not as much to the building as to the family, the group of individuals to which we are connected (not only direct family, but fellow workers, housemates, etc.) In Christ's system breaking our lives in this world into three aspects, this emotional/relationship aspect that is so important, the closest thing to the spiritual in this world.
This is contrasted with social positioning, which, as we explained in the last verse, is the evil opposite of the personal relationship, concerning ourselves with what people in general think of us rather than on our personal relationships.
Thematically and Linguistically Related Verse(s): Mat 23:14 is the parallel verse in Matthew.
Vocabulary:
"Devour" is from katesthiô (katesthio), which means "to eat up" and "to devour." It is a term applied to animals of prey. It also means "to corrode" or "to be gnawed."
"Widow" is from chêra (chera), which means "widow" and "bereaved."
"Houses" is oikia, which means "house," "building," and "household." It was also the term that was used to describe a family or clan and the people associated with that family or clan, such as their servants and slaves.
"Pretense" is from prophasis (prophasis), which means "motive," "alleged cause," "actual motive," "plea," "falsely alleged motive," "pretext," "pretense," "purpose," "cause," "persuasion," and "suggestion."
"Make...prayers" is from proseuchomai (proseuchomai), which means "to offer prayers or vows," "to worship," and "to pray for a thing."
"Long" is from markos (markos), which means "lengthy."
"These" is from houtos (houtos), which means "this," "that," "the nearer." As an adverb, it means "therefore," and "that is why."
"They shall receive" is from lambanô (lambano) which means "to take," "to receive," "to apprehend with the senses," and "to seize." It is also specifically used to mean seized with emotion.
"Greater" is perissoteros, which is a form of the word perissos, which means "beyond the regular number of size," "out of the common," "extraordinary" "more than sufficient," "superfluous," "useless," "excessive," "extravagant," "over-wise," "over-curious," "abundantly," and "remarkable."
"Damnation" is from krima (krima), which means "decision," "judgment," "decree," "resolution," and a "legal decision."
