Woe to you, hypocrites, scribes and Pharisees, for you devour the houses of widows and for show you make long prayers. For this you will be punished severely.
In this saying Jesus exposes the darkest side of religious hypocrisy, when divine service becomes a means of exploitation. The Pharisees, taking advantage of their authority, oppressed the weakest materially—especially widows—and justified their behavior with long prayers. The phrase “you devour widows’ houses” shows not only greed, but also hardness of heart, when a person places God’s name under the cover of his greed. And “you make long prayers for show” means they pretended to live in holiness in order to gain respect and trust. Jesus emphasizes that whoever commits injustice under the mask of holiness will deserve a far heavier judgment than those who are openly sinful.