Mark 12:42

Mark 12:42 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
• New International Version (NIV)But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.

Context of Mark 12:42

40But these men take things away from women after their husbands have died, even their houses. Then they pray for a long time so that other people will praise them. Because they do these things, God will punish those men much more than other people.’ 41Many people were giving their gifts for the temple. There was a box for money there. People threw their coins into it. Jesus sat near the box and he watched them. Many rich people put a lot of money into the box. But then a woman came there. Her husband had died and she was very poor. She put two small coins that had only a little value into the box. 43Jesus asked his disciples to come to him. He said to them, ‘I tell you this: This poor woman has put a better gift into the box than all the other people have put in there. 44All those rich people have plenty of money. They only put a small part of that into the box. But this woman has almost nothing. She put in all the money that she had. That was all the money that she needed to live.’

Mark 12:42 word by word

καὶ ἐλθοῦσα μία χήρα πτωχὴ ἔβαλεν λεπτὰ δύο ὅ ἐστιν κοδράντης.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• there cameἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• a certainεἷςheis · oneG1520
• poorπτωχόςptōchos · poorG4434
• widowχήραchēra · widowG5503
• and she threw inβάλλωballō · to throw: putG906
• twoδύοduo · twoG1417
• mitesλεπτόςlepton · coinG3016
• whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• makeεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• a farthingκοδράντηςkodrantēs · pennyG2835

Commentaries on Mark 12:42

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 42Two mites - The word translated “mite” denotes a small coin made of brass - the smallest in use among the Jews. The precise value cannot now be easily estimated. It was much less than any coin we have, as the “farthing” was less than an English farthing. It was in value about three mills and a half, or one-third of a cent.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 41-44Verses 41-44 Let us not forget that Jesus still sees the treasury. He knows how much, and from what motives, men give to his cause. He looks at the heart, and what our views are, in giving alms; and whether we do it as unto the Lord, or only to be seen of men. It is so rare to find any who would not blame this widow, that we cannot expect to find many who will do like to her; and yet our Saviour commends her, therefore we are sure that she did well and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 41-42The word treasury can refer to a building in the temple area where they stored temple money. Here, it refers to one of thirteen money chests into which gifts were placed. As Jesus watched, many rich people put in large amounts. Then, he noticed one poor widow who put in two small copper coins. (The Roman term quadrans suggests Mark wrote his Gospel for the church in Rome; see Mark Book Introduction, “Audience.”) These two coins were worth only one…Read the comment

Topics related to Mark 12:42

• Farthing
• Mite (a Lepta)
• Temple
• Widow
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Catch
• Empty
• Farthing
• Gladly
• Salutation
• Whence
• Chest
• Jesus Christ
• Make, Maker
• Mark, the Gospel According to

Commentaries on Mark 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings