Mark 12:44

For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
For	γὰρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
all	πάντες pantes	G3956	all · adjective — nominative plural masculine
did cast in	ἔβαλον, ebalon	G906	to throw (in various applications · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
of	ἐκ ek	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
their	αὐτοῖς autois	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine
abundance	περισσεύοντος perisseuontos	G4052	to superabound (in quantity or quality) · verb — present active participle, genitive singular neuter
but	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
she	αὐτῆς autēs	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular feminine
of	ἐκ ek	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
her	αὐτῆς.¶ autēs	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular feminine
want	ὑστερήσεως husterēseōs	G5304	a falling short · noun — genitive singular feminine
did cast in	ἔβαλεν, ebalen	G906	to throw (in various applications · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
all	πάντα panta	G3956	all · adjective — accusative plural neuter
that	ὅσα hosa	G3745	as (much · correlative pronoun — accusative plural neuter
she had	εἶχεν eichen	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
all	ὅλον holon	G3650	"whole" or "all" · adjective — accusative singular masculine
her	αὐτός autós	G846	the reflexive pronoun self
living	βίον bion	G979	life · noun — accusative singular 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 8:2-3 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
1 John 3:17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love…
Ezra 2:68-69 And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to…
Mark 14:8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
Luke 21:2-4 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.
Luke 8:43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,
Luke 15:30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
Deuteronomy 24:6 No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man’s life to pledge.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Mark 12:41–end

This passage of story was not in Matthew, but is here and in Luke; it is Christ's commendation of the poor widow, that cast two mites into the treasury, which our Saviour, busy as he was in preaching, found leisure to take notice of. Observe, I. There was a public fund for charity, into which contributions were brought, and out of which distributions were made; a poor's-box, and this in the temple; for works of charity and works of piety very fitly go together; where God is honoured by our worship, it is proper he should be honoured by the relief of his poor; and we often find prayers and alms in conjunction, as Act 10:2, Act 10:4. IT is good to erect public receptacles of charity for the in…

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Adam Clarke on Mark 12:41

Cast money into the treasury - It is worthy of observation, that the money put into the treasury, even by the rich, is termed by the evangelist χαλκον, brass money, probably that species of small brass coin which was called פרוטה prutah among the Jews, two of which make a farthing, and twenty-four an Italian assarius, which assarius is the twenty-fourth part of a silver penny. We call this, mite, from the French, miete, which signifies a crumb, or very small morsel. The prutah was the smallest coin in use among the Jews: and there is a canon among the rabbins that no person shall put less than two prutahs into the treasury. This poor widow would not give less, and her poverty prevented her f…

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John Gill on Mark 12:44

For all they did cast in of their abundance,.... Or "superabundance", as the Arabic version renders it; or "superfluity", as the Ethiopic: they abounded in the things of the world, of which they gave only a part; and though they might give much, yet they could easily spare it, and had enough remaining: but she, of her want; or "penury", as in Luke 21:4; see 2 Corinthians 8:2; did cast in all that she had, even all her living; her whole substance, all that she had in the world; what was to have bought her food, for that day; she left herself nothing, but gave away all, and trusted to providence for immediate supply.

The Church Fathers

(ubi sup.) Wherefore He adds, For all they did cast in of their abundance, but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
— Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(ubi sup) The Jew sends of his abundance into the treasury, because he presumes on his own righteousness; but the Church sends her whole living into God's treasury, because she understands that even her very living is not of her own desert, but of Divine grace.
— Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

When the widow put into the collection box only two small coins, the master did not give her a recompense worth only two coins. Why was that? Because he paid no attention to the amount of the money. What he did heed was the wealth of her soul. If you calculate by the value of her money, her poverty is great. If you bring her intention into the light, you will see that her store of generosity defies description.
— John Chrysostom, ON THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE NATURE OF GOD 6.12

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…
Liberality · Extraordinary - Exemplified: Poor widow — Extraordinary - Exemplified: Poor widow
Missionaries, All Christians Should Be As · In devoting all property to God — In devoting all property to God
Poor · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Poor, The · Offerings of, acceptable to God — Offerings of, acceptable to God
Riches · They who possess, should: Devote them to God’s service — They who possess, should: Devote them to God’s service
Self-Denial · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Widow · .The woman who gave two mites (leptas) in the temple courtyard — .The woman who gave two mites (leptas) in the temple courtyard

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).

Mark 12:44

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Mark 12:41–end

Adam Clarke on Mark 12:41

John Gill on Mark 12:44

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Mark 12:44

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Mark 12:41–end

Adam Clarke on Mark 12:41

John Gill on Mark 12:44

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Mark 12:41–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Mark 12:43-44