So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
The Lord pronounces woe a seventh time on these hypocrites, and the charge proves it: they build magnificent tombs for prophets and righteous men, yet their outward show of honor masks hearts opposed to the very God those men served. The distinction matters: grave means the hole dug in earth; sepulcher means the building raised over it, and theirs were grand indeed.
AI summary
These painted men wear righteousness on the outside while their inside contradicts it entirely. The Pharisees had their own saying: a disciple who is not the same within as without is no true disciple at all. Yet they broke it constantly, expecting reward for virtue while harboring the hidden iniquity that destroyed the second Temple.
AI summary