Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Mark 12:38 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 38. 38And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse opens the unit at Mark 12:38 in “Jesus Warns against Status-Seeking Scribes Who Devour Widows”: “And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love…”.
Read It With
- Mark 12:38-40
Read Mark 12:38 with 12:38-40. This verse opens the unit at Mark 12:38 in “Jesus Warns against Status-Seeking Scribes Who Devour Widows”: “And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love…”. The complete unit's controlling movement is: Jesus warns hearers about scribes who seek display, honor, and long prayers while consuming widows' households, and he announces greater judgment.
Why This Verse Appears Here
This verse opens the unit at Mark 12:38 in “Jesus Warns against Status-Seeking Scribes Who Devour Widows”: “And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love…”. This specific contribution advances Mark 12:38-40 toward its narrated or taught result.
What Remains True
Religious prestige becomes especially culpable when it consumes the resources of vulnerable households. At Mark 12:38, opens the unit at Mark 12:38 in “Jesus Warns against Status-Seeking Scribes Who Devour Widows”: “And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love…”.
How It Can Shape Life
- At Mark 12:38, audit the money, status, and prayer practices of leaders, and protect widows and other financially vulnerable people from exploitation. This verse contributes to that response because it opens the unit at Mark 12:38 in “Jesus Warns against Status-Seeking Scribes Who Devour Widows”: “And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love…”.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Mark 12:38-40 — Jesus Warns against Status-Seeking Scribes Who Devour WidowsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Mark 12:38-40, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 12:38-40
Open the Mark Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Mark with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 12:38-40 and attached translator/textual notes
Open the official NET Mark PDF ↗