Mark 12:42 (DBY)

Passage

And a poor widow came and cast in two mites, which is a farthing.

Nearby Context

Mark 12:40 who devour the houses of widows, and as a pretext make long prayers. These shall receive a severer judgment.

Mark 12:41 And Jesus, having sat down opposite the treasury, saw how the crowd was casting money into the treasury; and many rich cast in much.

Mark 12:42 And a poor widow came and cast in two mites, which is a farthing.

Mark 12:43 And having called his disciples to [him] he said to them, Verily I say unto you, This poor widow has cast in more than all who have cast into the treasury:

Mark 12:44 for all have cast in of that which they had in abundance, but she of her destitution has cast in all that she had, the whole of her living.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "poor", "widow", "came", "cast", "mites", and "farthing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "poor" and "widow", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 41's "And Jesus having sat down opposite the..." into verse 43's "And having called his disciples to him...", so "poor" and "widow" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "poor" and "widow" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.