He saw a certain poor widow casting in two small brass coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them, 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.”
Show the surrounding paragraph
Luke 21:2-4 sits inside this longer paragraph.
He looked up and saw the rich people who were putting their gifts into the treasury. He saw a certain poor widow casting in two small brass coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them, 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.”
Parallel Translations
-
He saw a certain poor widow casting in two small brass coins.
He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them,
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.”
-
And he sawe also a certayne povre widdowe which cast in thyther two mites.
And he sayde: of a trueth I saye vnto you this poore wyddowe hath put in moare then they all.
For they all have of their superfluyte added vnto the offerynge of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the substaunce that she had.
Show all 3 translations
-
And he sawe also a certaine poore widowe which cast in thither two mites:
And he sayd, Of a trueth I say vnto you, that this poore widowe hath cast in more then they all.
For they all haue of their superfluitie cast into the offerings of God: but she of her penurie hath cast in all the liuing that she had.
Cross-references (16)
- Mark 12:42 (v2) A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin.
- Acts 2:44-45 (v4) All who believed were together, and had all things in common. They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according…
- Luke 15:12 (v4) The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ He divided his livelihood between them.
- 2 Corinthians 8:12 (v3) For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have.
- Acts 10:34 (v3) Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly I perceive that God doesn’t show favoritism;
Show all 16 cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 8:2-3 (v3) how in much proof of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their generosity. For…
- Exodus 35:21-29 (v3) They came, everyone whose heart stirred him up, and everyone whom his spirit made willing, and brought Yahweh’s offering for the work of…
- Mark 12:43-44 (v3) He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving…
- Acts 4:34 (v4) For 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…
- Mark 14:8-9 (v3) She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for the burying. Most certainly I tell you, wherever this Good News may be…
- Luke 4:25 (v3) But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a…
- Luke 8:43 (v4) A 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
- Luke 9:27 (v3) But I tell you the truth: There are some of those who stand here who will in no way taste of death until they see God’s Kingdom.”
- Luke 12:44 (v3) Truly I tell you, that he will set him over all that he has.
- Acts 4:27 (v3) “For truly, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together against your holy servant,…
- 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (v3) Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Let each man give…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (9 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On v2 2 And he saw also a certain poor widow…
2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.
Ver. 2. Casting in thither two mites] That is, two eighth parts of a half-penny, saith the Syriac. {See Trapp on "Mar 12:41"} {See Trapp on "Mar 12:42"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–4 And he saw also a certain poor widow,.... Whom…
And he saw also a certain poor widow,.... Whom he took particular notice of above all the rest: the poor, and the widow, are regarded by him, and are his care; nor are their mean services, done in faith, and from a principle of love, despised by him, but preferred to the greater services of others, where faith and love are wanting:
casting in thither two mites; the value of a farthing. The Persic version renders it, "two bottoms of yarn"; See Gill on Mar 12:42,
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v2 Verse 2. A certain poor widow] A widow miserably…
Verse 2. A certain poor widow] A widow miserably poor; this is the proper import of πενιχραν, and her being miserably poor heightened the merit of the action.
Two mites.] Which Mark says, Mr 12:42, make a farthing or quadrans, the fourth part of an AS, or penny, as we term it. In Plutarch's time we find the smallest piece of brass coin in use among the Romans was the quadrans, but it appears that a smaller piece of money was in circulation among the Jews in our Lord's time, called here, and in Mark, Mr 12:42, a lepton, i.e. small, diminished, from λειπο, I fail. In ancient times our penny used to be marked with a deep indented cross, dividing the piece into four equal parts, which, when broken in two, made the half-penny, and, when broken into four, made the fourthing, what we have corrupted into farthing. Probably the Roman quadrans was divided in this way for the convenience of the poor. Our term mite seems to have been taken from the animal called by that name; for as that appeared to our ancestors to be the smallest of all animals, so this being the smallest of all coins was called by its name. Junius says that mite was a small base coin among the Dutch. Our word mite seems to be a contraction of the Latin minutum, a small thing, whence the French miete, a crumb, a very small morsel. See Clarke on Mr 12:41.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v3 Whatever we offer to the Almighty with a good…
Whatever we offer to the Almighty with a good intention is acceptable to him; for he regards not the gift, but the heart of the giver. (Ven. Bede) --- God does not appreciate the smallness of the gift, but the greatness of the affection with which it is offered. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. i. ad Hebræos.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–4 two mites--"which make a farthing" (Mar 12:42), the smallest…
two mites--"which make a farthing" (Mar 12:42), the smallest Jewish coin. "She might have kept one" [BENGEL].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–4 2. also] If the kai be genuine, it should…
2. also] If the kai be genuine, it should perhaps follow the tina— “some one—even a widow.”
two mites] “which make a farthing,” Mar_12:42. The lepton or prutah was the smallest of coins, and the Rabbis did not allow any one to give less than two.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–4 (2) A certain poor widow.—St. Luke’s word for “poor”…
(2) A certain poor widow.—St. Luke’s word for “poor” differs from St. Mark’s, and seems to have been carefully chosen to express the fact that the widow, though “needy,” and compelled to work for her scanty maintenance, was yet not a “beggar,” as the more common word for “poor” suggested. It is not found elsewhere in the New Testament.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting…
And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. The mite (lepton) was the smallest current coin. Two of these little pieces were the smallest legal offering which could be dropped into the "trumpet." But this sum, as the Heart-reader, who knew all things, tells us (ver. 4), was every particle of money she had in the world; and it was this splendid generosity on the part of the poor solitary widow which won the Lord"s praise, which has touched the hearts of so many generations since, which has stirred up in so many hearts an admiration of an act so strangely beautiful, but well-nigh inimitable.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv2, 4 21:2 two small coins: Together, two lepta were worth…
21:2 two small coins: Together, two lepta were worth only about 1/64 of a denarius (the standard day’s wage for a laborer).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.