A BANDIT — an armed robber or brigand, not a pickpocket and not a swindler. Josephus uses it of insurgents; John uses it of Barabbas (18:40); and it is the word for the two men crucified beside Jesus (Matthew 27:38), which is why 'thieves' there is misleading too. ⚠ So the temple charge at 21:13 is not primarily about overcharging. Quoting Jeremiah 7:11, Jesus says the house has become a spēlaion lēstōn — a CAVE of bandits, a hideout — and Jeremiah's own context is people who steal and murder and then shelter in the temple as if it were a refuge. KJV's 'den of thieves' and NIV's 'den of robbers' both suggest commercial dishonesty; the charge is closer to 'this has become a brigands' hideout.' Distinguish kleptēs, the ordinary thief who works by stealth (the word in 'the Lord will come like a kleptēs'). → first discussed at Matt 21:13