Difficult to accept scripture lessons provided by an old witch (8)
I believe the answer is:
harridan
'witch' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'difficult to accept scripture lessons provided by an old' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'scripture' could be 'ri' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'ri' is found in the answer.
'difficult' could be 'hard' (associated in meaning) and 'hard' is found in the leftover letters.
'an' could be 'a' and 'a' is present in the answer.
A single letter 'n' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for harridan that I've seen before include "Scolding or bullying old woman" , "Bossy old woman" , "'Bad-tempered, scolding old woman (8)'" , "Nagger" , "nasty old woman" .)