Mark 12:28-44

English Standard Version

The Great Commandment

²⁸^(A)And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹Jesus answered, “The most important is, ^(B)‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, ^(C)the Lord is one. ³⁰And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹^(D)The second is this: ^(E)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment ^(F)greater than these.” ³²And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that ^(G)he is one, and ^(H)there is no other besides him. ³³And to love him with all the heart and with all ^(I)the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, ^(J)is much more than all ^(K)whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^(L)And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Christ?

³⁵^(M)And as ^(N)Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that ^(O)the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶David himself, ^(P)in the Holy Spirit, declared,

^(Q)“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies ^(R)under your feet.”’

³⁷David himself calls him Lord. So ^(S)how is he his son?” And the great throng ^(T)heard him gladly.

Beware of the Scribes

³⁸^(U)And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces ³⁹and have the best seats in the synagogues and ^(V)the places of honor at feasts, ⁴⁰^(W)who devour widows' houses and ^(X)for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Widow's Offering

⁴¹^(Y)And he sat down opposite ^(Z)the treasury and watched the people ^(AA)putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴²And a poor widow came and put in two ^(AB)small copper coins, which make a penny.^[a] ⁴³And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^(AC)this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. ⁴⁴For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ^(AD)poverty has put in everything she had, all ^(AE)she had to live on.”

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Footnotes

Mark 12:42 Greek two lepta, which make a kodrantes; a kodrantes (Latin quadrans) was a Roman copper coin worth about 1/64 of a denarius (which was a day's wage for a laborer)

Psalm 90

English Standard Version

Book Four

From Everlasting to Everlasting

A ^(A)Prayer of Moses, the ^(B)man of God.

90 Lord, you have been our ^(C)dwelling place^[a]
    in all generations.
²^(D)Before the ^(E)mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    ^(F)from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

³You return man to dust
    and say, ^(G)“Return, ^(H)O children of man!”^[b]
⁴For ^(I)a thousand years in your sight
    are but as ^(J)yesterday when it is past,
    or as ^(K)a watch in the night.

⁵You ^(L)sweep them away as with a flood; they are like ^(M)a dream,
like ^(N)grass that is renewed in the morning:
⁶in ^(O)the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it ^(P)fades and ^(Q)withers.

⁷For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
⁸You have ^(R)set our iniquities before you,
our ^(S)secret sins in the light of your presence.

⁹For all our days pass away under your wrath;
    we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
¹⁰The years of our life are seventy,
    or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span^[c] is but toil and trouble;
    they are soon gone, and we fly away.
¹¹Who considers the power of your anger,
    and your wrath according to the fear of you?

¹²^(T)So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom.
¹³^(U)Return, O Lord! ^(V)How long?
    Have ^(W)pity on your servants!
¹⁴Satisfy us in the ^(X)morning with your steadfast love,
    that we may ^(Y)rejoice and be glad all our days.
¹⁵Make us glad for as many days as you have ^(Z)afflicted us,
    and for as many years as we have seen evil.
¹⁶Let your ^(AA)work be shown to your servants,
    and your glorious power to their children.
¹⁷Let the ^(AB)favor^[d] of the Lord our God be upon us,
    and establish ^(AC)the work of our hands upon us;
    yes, establish the work of our hands!