Then one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius.
Parallel translations
- WEB A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin.
- KJV And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
- NKJV Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.
- NASB And a poor widow came and put in two lepta coins, which amount to a quadrans.
- NLT Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.
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
A poor widow comes and drops in two tiny copper coins worth almost nothing. Her gift seems trivial by human reckoning.
Overview
The two lepta were the smallest coins in circulation, together barely a fraction of a day's wage. Mark highlights both her poverty and her status as a widow — exactly the kind of person the scribes exploited. What looks insignificant to onlookers is about to be declared the greatest gift of all by Jesus, who sees the heart.
Cross-references & the web
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 12:42 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
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