Mark 12:38-44

Beware of the Scribes

38 ¹And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces

39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and ²the places of honor at feasts,

40 ³who devour widows' houses and ⁴for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."

The Widow's Offering

41 ⁵And he sat down opposite ⁶the treasury and watched the people ⁷putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.

42 And a poor widow came and put in two ⁸small copper coins, which make a penny.^[a]

43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, ⁹this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.

44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ¹⁰poverty has put in everything she had, all ¹¹she had to live on."

Cross References

• 1. For ver. 38, 39, see Matthew 23:1, 2, 5-7; Luke 20:45, 46; [Luke 11:43]
• 2. Luke 14:7, 8
• 3. [Luke 11:39; Luke 16:14]
• 4. [Matthew 6:5, 7]
• 5. For ver. 41-44, see Luke 21:1-4
• 6. Matthew 27:6; John 8:20
• 7. 2 Kings 12:9
• 8. Luke 12:59
• 9. [2 Corinthians 8:2, 12]
• 10. Philippians 4:11
• 11. Luke 8:43

Footnotes

• [a]. Greek two lepta, which make a kodrantes; a kodrantes (Latin quadrans) was a Roman copper coin worth about 1/64 of a denarius (which was a day's wage for a laborer)