Mark 12:20 (GNV)

Passage

There were seuen brethren, and the first tooke a wife, and when he died, left no issue.

Nearby Context

Mark 12:18 Then came the Sadduces vnto him, (which say, there is no resurrection) and they asked him, saying,

Mark 12:19 Master, Moses wrote vnto vs, If any mans brother die, and leaue his wife, and leaue no children, that his brother should take his wife, and rayse vp seede vnto his brother.

Mark 12:20 There were seuen brethren, and the first tooke a wife, and when he died, left no issue.

Mark 12:21 Then the seconde tooke her, and he died, neither did he yet leaue issue, and the third likewise:

Mark 12:22 So those seuen had her, and left no yssue: last of all the wife died also.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "seuen", "brethren", "first", "tooke", "wife", "died", "left", and "issue". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "seuen" and "brethren", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Master Moses wrote vnto vs If any..." into verse 21's "Then the seconde tooke her and he...", so "seuen" and "brethren" 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 "seuen" and "brethren" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.