Mark 12:20 (KJV)

Passage

Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.

Nearby Context

Mark 12:18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

Mark 12:19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

Mark 12:20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.

Mark 12:21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.

Mark 12:22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "seven", "brethren", "first", "took", "wife", "dying", "left", and "seed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "seven" 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 unto us If a..." into verse 21's "And the second took her and died...", so "seven" 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 "seven" and "brethren" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.