Mark 12:28-44

New American Standard Bible

^28 (A)One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and ^(B)recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the ^[a]foremost of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The ^[b]foremost is, ‘^(C)Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; ^30 (D)and 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 The second is this: ‘^(E)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³² And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher; You have truly stated that ^(F)He is One, and there is no other besides Him; ^33 (G)and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, ^(H)is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^(I)And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.

^35 (J)And Jesus responded and began saying, as He ^(K)taught in the temple area, “How is it that the scribes say that the ^[c]Christ is the ^(L)son of David? ³⁶ David himself said ^[d]in the Holy Spirit,

³⁷ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And ^(N)the large crowd ^[e]enjoyed listening to Him.

^38 (O)And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like ^(P)personal greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and seats of honor in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, ^40 (Q)who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”

The Widow’s Coins

^41 (R)And Jesus sat down opposite ^(S)the treasury, and began watching how the ^[f]people were ^(T)putting ^[g]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large amounts. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two ^[h]lepta coins, which amount to a ^[i]quadrans. ⁴³ Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all ^[j]the contributors to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their ^[k]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, ^[l]all she had ^(U)to live on.”