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for all these put in gifts for God from their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had to live on.”
Luke 21:4 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
  • BSB For they all contributed out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”
  • NKJV for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
  • NASB for they all contributed to the offering from their surplus; but she, from her poverty, put in all that she had to live on.”
  • NLT For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The rich gave from their surplus, but the widow gave everything she had to live on.

Overview

Her gift cost her all, an act of total trust in God to provide. True generosity is measured by sacrifice and faith, not by the visible size of the gift. She becomes a picture of wholehearted devotion, even foreshadowing the One who would give His all for us.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Acts 2:44–45All who believed were together, and had all things in common.
  • Luke 15:12The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ He divided his livelihood between them.
  • Acts 4:34For neither was there among them any who lacked, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,
  • Luke 8:43A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed by any,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Luke videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Luke 21:4YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LukeMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.

How Luke 21:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.