to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
Of a truth
ἀληθῶςalēthōs
G230
truly · adverb
I say
λέγωlegō
G3004
properly · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
unto you
ὑμῖνhymîn
G5213
to (with or by) you
that
ὅτιhoti
G3754
demonstrative · conjunction
this
αὕτηhautē
G3778
the he (she or it) · demonstrative pronoun — nominative singular feminine
poor
πτωχὴptōchē
G4434
akin to G4422 (πτοέω) and the alternate of G4098 (πίπτω… · noun — nominative singular feminine
widow
χήραchēra
G5503
a widow (as lacking a husband) · noun — nominative singular feminine
hath cast in
ἔβαλεν·ebalen
G906
to throw (in various applications · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
more
πλεῖονpleion
G4119
more in quantity · adjective — accusative singular neuter, comparative
than they all
πάντωνpantōn
G3956
all · adjective — genitive plural masculine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Corinthians 8:12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
2 Corinthians 8:2-3 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
Exodus 35:21-29 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering to the…
Mark 12:43-44 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they whic…
Mark 14:8-9 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
Luke 4:25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when gre…
Luke 9:27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Luke 21:1-4
This short passage of story we had before in Mark. It is thus recorded twice, to teach us, 1. That charity to the poor is a main matter in religion. Our Lord Jesus took all occasions to commend it and recommend it. He had just mentioned the barbarity of the scribes, who devoured poor widows (ch. 20); and perhaps this is designed as an aggravation of it, that the poor widows were the best benefactors to the public funds, of which the scribes had the disposal. 2. That Jesus Christ has his eye upon us, to observe what we give to the poor, and what we contribute to works of piety and charity. Christ, though intent upon his preaching, looked up, to see what gifts were cast into the treasury, Luk…
And he said--"to His disciples," whom He "called to Him" (Mar 12:43), to teach from it a great future lesson.
more than . . . all--in proportion to her means, which is God's standard (Co2 8:12).
Adam Clarke on Luke 21:2
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, Mar 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, Mar 12:42, a lepton, i.e. small, diminished, from λειπω, 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…
And he said,.... To his disciples, as the Ethiopic version adds; these he called to him, upon this occasion, as appears from Mark 12:43
of a truth I say unto you, that this poor woman hath cast in more than they all: than all the rich men; not in quantity, but in proportion to her ability; See Gill on Mark 12:43.
The Church Fathers
(Hom. 1. in Ep. ad Heb., Hom. 28.) For God regarded not the scantiness of the offering, but the overflowing of the affection. Almsgiving is not the bestowing a few things out of many, but it is that of the widow emptying, herself of her whole substance. But if you cannot offer as much as the widow, at least give all that remains over.
She offered two oboli, which with the sweat of her brow she had earned for her daily living, or what she daily begs for at the hands of others she gives to God, showing that her poverty is fruitful to her. Therefore does she surpass the others, and by a just award receives a crown from God; as it follows, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more, &c.
This may perhaps irritate some among the rich. We will therefore address a few remarks to them. You delight, O rich person, in the abundance of your possessions.… You offer not so much in proportion to your means as merely that which when you give, you will never miss—out of great abundance, a little. The woman offered two farthings, but she possessed nothing more than what she offered. She had nothing left. With empty hand but a hand bountiful of the little she possessed, she went away from the treasury. Did she not therefore justly carry off the crown? Did not the decree of superiority come to her by a holy judgment? Did she not surpass your bountifulness, in regard at least of her readiness?
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Mite — Contraction of minute, from the Latin minutum, the translation of the Greek word lepton, the very smallest bronze of copper coin (Luke 12:59; 21:2). Two mites made one quadrans, i.e., the fourth part…
Duty · 22:5;23:11; — 22:5;23:11;
Judgment · ACCORDING TO OPPORTUNITY AND WORKS — ACCORDING TO OPPORTUNITY AND WORKS
Responsibility · ACCORDING TO PRIVILEGE — ACCORDING TO PRIVILEGE
Self-Denial · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Luke 21:1-4
Luke 21:1-4
Mark 12:41-44
Luke 21:1-4
41. And while Jesus was sitting opposite to the treasury, he perceived how the multitude threw money into the treasury, and many rich persons put in much. 42. And a poor widow came, and threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 43. And having called his disciples to him, he said, Verily I say to you, that this poor widow hath thrown in more than all who have thrown into the treasury: 44. For they all have thrown in out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty hath thrown in all that she had, all her living. [120]
1. And, lifting up his eyes, he saw those rich men who were throwing their gifts into the treasury. 2. And he saw also a certain poo…
