M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Birth of Samson
13 Again the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. So he ·handed them over to [L gave them into the hand of] the Philistines for forty years.
2 There was a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan, who lived in the city of Zorah [C fifteen miles west of Jerusalem; v. 25]. He had a wife, but she [L was barren/infertile and] could not have children [C a cause of both sadness and shame; Gen. 11:30; 29:31]. 3 The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord [C angelic spokesperson for God, sometimes identified with the Lord himself; 2:1; 6:11; Gen. 16:7; Ex. 14:19; 23:20] appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “·You [L Look/T Behold, you are barren and] have not been able to have children, but you will ·become pregnant [conceive] and give birth to a son. 4 Be careful not to drink wine or ·beer [or other fermented drink; T strong drink; C an alcoholic beverage made from grain] or eat anything that is unclean [C in a ritual sense], 5 because you will ·become pregnant [conceive] and have a son. You must never cut his hair, because he will be a Nazirite [Num. 6:1–12], given to God from ·birth [L the womb]. He will begin to ·save [rescue; T deliver] Israel from the ·power [hand] of the Philistines.”
6 Then Manoah’s wife went to him and told him what had happened. She said, “A man from God came to me. He looked like an angel from God; ·his appearance was frightening [very terrifying/awesome]. I didn’t ask him where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will ·become pregnant [conceive] and will have a son. Don’t drink wine or ·beer [or other fermented drink; T strong drink; v. 4] or eat anything that is unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite [v. 5] to God from his birth until the day of his death.’”
8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, I beg you to let the man of God come to us again. Let him teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born to us.”
9 God heard Manoah’s prayer, and the ·angel [messenger] of God came to Manoah’s wife again while she was sitting in the field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 So she ran to tell him, “·He is here [L Look; T Behold]! The man who ·appeared [came] to me the other day is here!”
11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”
The man said, “I am.”
12 So Manoah asked, “When what you say happens, what kind of life should the boy live? What ·should he do [is his mission/vocation]?”
13 The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord said, “Your wife must be careful to do everything I told her to do. 14 She must not eat anything that grows on a grapevine, or drink any wine or ·beer [or other fermented drink; T strong drink; v. 4], or eat anything that is unclean [C in a ritual sense]. She must do everything I have commanded her.”
15 Manoah said to the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord, “We would like you to stay awhile so we can cook a young goat for you.”
16 The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord answered, “Even if I stay awhile, I would not eat your food. But if you want to prepare something, offer a burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] to the Lord.” (Manoah did not understand that the man was really the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah asked the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord, “What is your name? Then we will honor you when what you have said really happens.”
18 The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord said, “Why do you ask my name? It is ·too amazing for you to understand [beyond comprehension; wonderful; Is. 9:6].” 19 So Manoah sacrificed a young goat on a rock and offered ·some grain as a gift [a grain/gift/tribute offering; Lev. 2:1] to the Lord. Then ·an amazing thing happened [or the Lord did an amazing thing] as Manoah and his wife watched. 20 As the flames went up to ·the sky [heaven] from the altar, the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord ·went up [ascended] in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw that, they bowed facedown on the ground. 21 The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord did not appear to them again. Then Manoah ·understood [realized; knew] that the man was really the ·angel [messenger] of the Lord. 22 Manoah said, “We have seen ·God [or a divine being; C Hebrew: Elohim; v. 3], so we will surely die [6:23; Gen. 16:13].”
23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our burnt offering [Lev. 1:1–17] or ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [Lev. 2:1]. He would not have shown us all these things or told us all this.”
24 So the woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson [C related to the Hebrew word for “sun”; perhaps “sun-like” or “light from God”; Mal. 4:2]. He grew, and the Lord blessed him. 25 The Spirit of the Lord began to ·work in Samson [move/stir/empower him] while he was in the city of Mahaneh Dan, between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol.
Paul and Silas in Thessalonica
17 ·Paul and Silas [L They] traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica [C a city on the Via Egnatia, the major road on the northern Aegean coast] where there was a synagogue. 2 Paul went into the synagogue as he ·always [customarily] did [C speaking to the Jews first], and on each Sabbath day for three weeks, he ·talked [discussed; or argued; reasoned] with ·his fellow Jews [L them] about the Scriptures. 3 He explained and proved that the ·Christ [Messiah; C Christ in Greek and Messiah in Hebrew mean “anointed one”] must ·die [L suffer] and then rise from the dead [3:18]. He said, “This Jesus I am ·telling you about [proclaiming to you] is the ·Christ [Messiah].” 4 Some of them were ·convinced [persuaded] and joined Paul and Silas, along with many of the Greeks who ·worshiped God [were devout; C sometimes called “God-fearers,” these were Gentiles who worshiped the one true God of Israel; 10:2; 13:43] and ·many [L not a few] of the important women [13:50].
5 But ·some others [L the Jews] became jealous. So they got some evil men ·from the marketplace [or loitering in the streets; from the marketplace rabble], formed a mob, and ·started a riot [put the city in an uproar]. They ran to Jason’s house, looking for ·Paul and Silas [L them], wanting to bring them out to the ·people [assembly; crowd]. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other ·believers [L brothers] to the ·leaders of the city [city authorities; L politarchs]. The people were yelling, “These people have ·made trouble [agitated; stirred up rebellion] everywhere in the world, and now they have come here too! 7 Jason ·is keeping [has welcomed/received/harbored] them in his house. All of them ·do things against [defy; oppose] the ·laws [decrees] of Caesar, saying there is another king, called Jesus.”
8 When the ·people [crowd] and the ·leaders of the city [city authorities; L politarchs] heard these things, they ·became very upset [were disturbed]. 9 They made Jason and the others ·put up a sum of money [pay bail; post a bond]. Then they let ·the believers [L them] go free.
Paul and Silas Go to Berea
10 That same night the ·believers [L brothers] sent Paul and Silas to ·Berea [C a Macedonian city to the south] where [L upon arriving] they went to the synagogue [L of the Jews]. 11 These people were more ·willing to listen [open-minded; fair-minded; noble in character] than the people in Thessalonica. The Bereans ·were eager to hear what Paul and Silas said [L eagerly received the word/message] and ·studied [examined] the Scriptures every day to find out if these things were true [C to confirm Paul’s teaching was in line with Scripture]. 12 So, many of them believed, as well as ·many [L not a few] ·important [prominent; socially high-standing] Greek women and men [17:4]. 13 But the Jews [C who had opposed Paul earlier] in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, too. So they came there, ·upsetting [stirring up] the ·people [crowd] and ·making trouble [causing a disturbance]. 14 The ·believers [L brothers (and sisters)] ·quickly [immediately] sent Paul away to the ·coast [L sea], but Silas and Timothy stayed ·in Berea [behind; L there]. 15 The people ·leading [escorting; accompanying] Paul went with him to Athens [C the leading city in Greece]. Then they carried ·a message [instructions; an order] from Paul back to Silas and Timothy for them to ·come to [rejoin] him as soon as they could.
Paul Preaches in Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for ·Silas and Timothy [L them] in Athens, ·he [L his spirit] was ·troubled [very distressed] because he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 In the synagogue, he ·talked [or argued; reasoned] with the Jews and the ·Greeks who worshiped God [God-fearing Gentiles; L pious/devout ones; see 17:4]. He also ·talked [or argued; reasoned] every day with ·people [L those who happened to be present] in the ·marketplace [or public square].
18 Some of the Epicurean [C who believed the goal of life was pleasure and did not believe the soul survived death] and Stoic philosophers [C who believed life should be lived with indifference to pleasure and pain, and did not believe the soul was immortal] ·argued [conversed; debated] with him, saying, “What is this ·babbler [or charlatan; or ignorant show-off; L word-scatterer] trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be telling us about ·some other gods [foreign gods; strange deities],” because Paul was ·telling them [preaching the Good News/Gospel] about Jesus and ·his rising from the dead [the resurrection]. 19 They got Paul and took him to ·a meeting of the Areopagus [or the Hill of Ares; or Mars Hill; C Ares (Greek name) or Mars (Roman name) was the god of thunder and war; the council of Areopagus was the oldest and most prestigious court for intellectual and moral matters], where they said, “Please explain to us this new idea you have been teaching. 20 [L For; Because] The things you are saying ·are new [or sound strange] to us, and we want to know what ·this teaching means [L these things mean].” 21 (All the people of Athens and ·those from other countries [foreigners] who lived there spent all their time talking about and listening to the newest ideas.)
22 Then Paul stood ·before the meeting [L in the midst] of the Areopagus and said, “·People of Athens [L Men, Athenians], I can see you are very religious in ·all things [every way]. 23 [L For; Because] As I was going through your city, I ·saw [observed closely] the objects you worship. I found an altar that had these words written on it: to ·a god who is not known [T an unknown god]. ·You worship a god that you don’t know, and this is the God I am telling you about [L What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you]! 24 The God who made the whole world and everything in it [Deut. 4:39; Ps. 146:6] is the Lord of the ·sky and the land [or heaven and earth]. He does not live in ·temples [shrines] built by human hands. 25 This God is the One who gives life, breath, and everything else to ·people [L all; everyone; Gen. 1:29; 2:7]. He ·does not need any help from them [L is not served by human hands]; he has everything he needs. 26 ·God began by making one person, and from him came all the different people [L From one, God made every nation of people] ·who live everywhere in the world [or in order to inhabit the whole earth]. God ·decided exactly [determined; or allotted] ·when [or their appointed time in history; or the seasons of their year] and ·where they must live [or the boundaries of their lands]. 27 God wanted them to ·look for [seek] him and perhaps ·search all around for [grope for; reach out to; feel their way towards] him and find him, though he is not far from any of us: 28 ‘[L For] ·By his power [or In him] we live and move and ·exist [have our being; C a quotation from the Cretan philosopher Epimenides, from about 600 bc].’ [L As] Some of your own poets have said: ‘For we are his ·children [offspring; C a quotation from Aratus, a Stoic philosopher from Cilicia, who lived about 315–240 bc].’ 29 Since we are God’s ·children [offspring], you must not think that ·God [the deity; or the divine nature] is like ·something [an image/likeness] ·that people imagine or make [L made by human skill and imagination] from gold, silver, or rock. 30 ·In the past, people did not understand God, and he ignored this [or God overlooked such times of ignorance]. But now, God ·tells [commands] all people in the world to ·change their hearts and lives [repent]. 31 [L Because] God has ·set [fixed; established] a day that he will judge all the world with ·fairness [righteousness], by the man he ·chose [appointed] long ago. And God has ·proved [or given assurance of] this to everyone by raising that man from the dead!”
32 When the people heard about ·Jesus being raised [L the resurrection] from the dead, some of them ·laughed [mocked; scoffed]. But others said, “We will hear more about this from you ·later [L again].” 33 So Paul went away from them. 34 But some of the ·people [L men] ·believed Paul [became believers] and joined him. Among those who believed was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and some others.
Jeremiah’s Lesson at the Temple
26 This message came from the Lord ·soon after Jehoiakim son of Josiah became [L at the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim] king of Judah [C ruled 605–597 bc]. 2 This is what the Lord said: “Jeremiah, stand in the courtyard of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. ·Give this message [L Say] to all the people of the towns of Judah who are coming to ·worship [bow down] at the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. Tell them everything I tell you to say; don’t leave out a word. 3 Maybe they will listen and ·stop [return/repent from] their evil ways. If they will, I will ·change my mind [relent] about bringing on them the ·disaster [evil; trouble] that I am planning because of the evil they have done. 4 Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord says: You must ·obey [listen to] me and follow my ·teachings [instructions; laws] that I gave you. 5 You must listen to what my servants the prophets [25:4] say to you. I have sent them to you again and again, but you did not ·listen [obey]. 6 If you don’t obey me, I will ·destroy my Temple in Jerusalem as I destroyed my Holy Tent at [L make this house like] Shiloh [7:12–14; 1 Sam. 4:1–22; Ps. 78:60–64]. When I do, ·people all over the world will curse Jerusalem [L I will make this city a curse].’”
7 The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 8 When Jeremiah finished speaking ·everything [L all the words] the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, prophets, and all the people ·grabbed [seized] Jeremiah. They said, “You must die! 9 ·How dare [L Why do…?] you prophesy in the name of the Lord that this ·Temple [L house] will be like the one at Shiloh [C destroyed]! ·How dare [L Why do…?] you say that this city [C Jerusalem] will become a ·desert [ruin] without anyone to live in it!” And all the people ·crowded [assembled] around Jeremiah in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord.
10 Now when the officers of Judah heard ·about what was happening [L these things/words], they came out of the king’s ·palace [L house] and went up to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate. 11 Then the priests and prophets said to the officers and all the other people, “·Jeremiah [L This man] ·should be killed [L deserves the death sentence]. He prophesied against this city [C Jerusalem], and you heard him ·yourselves [L with your ears].”
12 Then Jeremiah spoke these words to all the officers of Judah and all the other people: “The Lord sent me to ·say [L prophesy] ·everything [L all these words] you have heard about this ·Temple [L house] and this city. 13 Now ·change [improve; mend] your ·lives and start doing good [L ways and your deeds] and ·obey [L listen to the voice of] the Lord your God. Then he will ·change his mind and not bring on you [relent of] the ·disaster [evil; trouble] he has told you about. 14 As for me, I am in your ·power [L hand]. Do to me what you think is good and right in your eyes. 15 But be sure of one thing. If you kill me, you will be ·guilty of killing an innocent person [L placing innocent blood on yourselves; Ex. 23:7; Deut. 19:10, 13]. ·You will make this city and everyone who lives in it guilty, too [L …and on this city and everyone who lives in it]! The Lord truly sent me to ·you to give you this message [L speak this word in your ears].”
16 Then the officers and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “·Jeremiah must not be killed [L This man does not deserve the death penalty]. ·What he told us comes from [L He has spoken to us in the name of] the Lord our God.”
17 Then some of the elders of the land [C of Judah] stood up and said to all the people, 18 “Micah, from the city of Moresheth [Micah 1:1, 14], was a prophet during the ·time Hezekiah was [L days of Hezekiah] king of Judah. Micah said to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] will be plowed like a field.
·It [L Jerusalem] will become a ·pile of rocks [a heap of ruins],
and the ·hill [L mountain] where the ·Temple [L house] stands will be ·covered with bushes [L a forested high place; Mic. 3:12].’
19 “·Hezekiah king of Judah and the people of Judah did not [L Did Hezekiah king of Judah and people of Judah try to…?] kill Micah. ·You know [L Do you not know…?] that Hezekiah feared the Lord [Prov. 1:7] and ·tried to please [sought the favor of] the Lord. So the Lord ·changed his mind [relented] and did not bring on Judah the ·disaster [evil; harm] he had promised. We will bring a terrible ·disaster [evil; harm] on ourselves [C by hurting Jeremiah]!”
20 (Now there was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord. His name was Uriah son of Shemaiah from the city of Kiriath Jearim. He ·preached [L prophesied] the same things against this city [C Jerusalem] and this land [C Judah] that Jeremiah did. 21 When King Jehoiakim, all his army officers, and all the leaders of Judah heard ·Uriah preach [L his words], King Jehoiakim ·wanted [sought] to kill Uriah. But Uriah heard about it and was afraid. So he escaped to Egypt. 22 Then King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Acbor and some other men to Egypt, 23 and they brought Uriah back from Egypt. Then they took him to King Jehoiakim, who had Uriah ·killed [L struck] with a sword. His body was thrown into the burial place where ·poor [common] people are buried.)
24 ·Ahikam son of Shaphan supported [L The hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with] Jeremiah [2 Kin. 22:3, 8–10]. So Ahikam did not hand Jeremiah over to be killed by the people.
The Story of the Evil Farmers(A)
12 [Then] Jesus began ·to use stories to teach the people [L to speak to them in parables; see 3:23]. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it and dug a ·hole [vat; pit] for a winepress and built a tower [C to protect against thieves; see Is. 5:1–7 for the background to this parable]. Then he leased the land to some [C tenant] farmers and left for a trip [C the owner represents God, the farmers are Israel’s religious leaders]. 2 When it was time for the grapes to be picked, he sent a ·servant [slave] to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. 3 But the farmers grabbed ·the servant [L him] and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then the man sent another ·servant [slave]. They ·hit [beat] him on the head and ·showed no respect for [humiliated; dishonored] him. 5 So the man sent another, whom they killed. The man sent many others; the farmers beat some of them and killed others [C the servants represent the prophets God sent to Israel].
6 “The man had one person left to send, his son whom he loved [C representing Jesus; see 1:11; 9:7]. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the farmers said to each other, ‘This son will inherit the vineyard. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “So what will the ·owner [lord] of the vineyard do? He will come and ·kill [destroy] those farmers and will give the vineyard to ·other farmers [L others; C referring to the sinners who were responding to Jesus’ call for repentance, and eventually to the Gentiles who would be saved]. 10 ·Surely you have read [L Have you never read…?] this Scripture:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
became the ·cornerstone [capstone; keystone; L head of the corner; C the meaning is uncertain, but clearly refers to the most important stone in the building; Jesus is the rejected stone].
11 The Lord did this,
and it is ·wonderful [amazing; marvelous] ·to us [for us to see; L in our eyes; Ps. 118:22–23].’”
12 The Jewish leaders knew that the ·story [parable] was about them. So they ·wanted to find a way [were seeking/trying] to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid of the people. So the leaders left him and went away.
Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?(B)
13 Later, the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and Herodians [C a political group that supported king Herod and his family; 3:6] to Jesus to ·trap [catch] him in saying something wrong. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are ·an honest man [true; honest; sincere]. You are not ·afraid of [concerned about] what other people think about you, because you ·pay no attention to who they are [play no favorites; are impartial; aren’t swayed by appearances]. And you teach ·the truth [with sincerity/honesty] about God’s way. Tell us: Is it ·right [permissible; lawful] to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay them, or not?” [C Saying “yes” would anger Jews who hated Roman rule; saying “no” could result in being charged with insurrection.]
But knowing ·what these men were really trying to do [L their hypocrisy], Jesus said to them, “Why are you ·trying to trap [testing] me? Bring me a ·coin [L denarius; C a Roman coin worth a day’s wages] to look at.” 16 They gave Jesus a coin, and he asked, “Whose ·image [likeness; portrait] and ·name [inscription] are on the coin?”
They answered, “Caesar’s.” [C Ironically, the religious leaders carry coins bearing the idolatrous image of Caesar.]
17 Then Jesus said to them, “·Give [T Render] to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.” They were amazed at what Jesus said.
Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus(C)
18 Then some Sadducees came to Jesus and asked him a question. (Sadducees believed that people would not rise from the dead.) 19 They said, “Teacher, Moses wrote that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, then that man must marry the widow and ·have children [L raise up offspring/seed] for his brother [Deut. 25:5]. 20 Once there were seven brothers. The first brother ·married [L took a wife] and died, leaving no children. 21 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died and had no children. The same thing happened with the third brother. 22 All seven brothers married her and died, and none of the brothers had any children. Finally the woman died too. 23 Since all seven brothers had married her, ·when people rise from the dead [L at the resurrection], whose wife will she be?”
24 Jesus answered, “·You are mistaken [L Are you not mistaken/in error…?] because you don’t know what the Scriptures say, and don’t you know about the power of God. 25 [L For] When people rise from the dead, they will not marry, nor will they be given to someone to marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. 26 ·Surely you have read [L Have you not read…?] what God said about people rising from the dead. In the book in which Moses wrote about the burning bush [Ex. 3:1–12], it says that God told Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob [Ex. 3:6; C God is still the God of the patriarchs, so they must have a continued existence after death].’ 27 God is the God of the living, not the dead. You Sadducees are ·wrong [greatly deceived; badly mistaken]!”
The Most Important Command(D)
28 One of the ·teachers of the law [scribes] came and heard Jesus arguing with the Sadducees. Seeing that Jesus gave good answers to their questions, he asked Jesus, “Which of the commands is most important?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important command is this: ‘·Listen, people of Israel [T Hear, O Israel]! The Lord our God is ·the only Lord [one Lord]. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength’ [Deut. 6:4–5; C these are the opening words of the Shema, the prayer said by pious Jews twice a day]. 31 The second command is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself’ [Lev. 19:18]. There are no commands ·more important [greater] than these.”
32 The man answered, “·That was a good answer [Well said!], Teacher. You were right when you said God is ·the only Lord [one] and there is no other God besides him. 33 One must love God with all his heart, all his mind, and all his strength. And one must love his neighbor as he loves himself. These commands are more important than all the ·animals [burnt offerings] and sacrifices we offer to God [1 Sam. 15:22; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6–8].”
34 When Jesus saw that the man answered him ·wisely [thoughtfully; with insight], Jesus said to him, “You are close to the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one ·was brave enough [dared] to ask Jesus any more questions.
The Question About David’s Son(E)
35 As Jesus was teaching in the Temple [courts; complex], he asked, “Why do the ·teachers of the law [scribes] say that the ·Christ [Messiah] is the ·son [descendant] of David [C see 2 Sam. 7:12]? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, said:
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit by me at my right ·side [L hand; C the place of greatest honor beside the king],
until I put your enemies ·under your control [L beneath your feet; C meaning defeated or made subject to your authority; Ps. 110:1].”’
37 David himself calls ·the Christ [the Messiah; L him] ‘Lord,’ so how can ·the Christ [the Messiah; L he] be his son?” The large crowd listened to Jesus with pleasure.
38 Jesus continued teaching and said, “Beware of the ·teachers of the law [scribes]. They like to walk around ·wearing fancy clothes [in long robes], and they love for people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces. 39 They love to have the most important seats in the synagogues and at ·feasts [banquets]. 40 But they ·cheat widows and steal their houses [L devour widows’ homes] and then try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers [in public]. They will receive a greater ·punishment [judgment; condemnation].”
True Giving(F)
41 Jesus sat near the Temple ·money box [offering chest; or treasury] and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money. 42 Then a poor widow came and put in ·two small copper coins [L two lepta], ·which were only worth a few cents [L which is a quadrans; C a Roman coin worth 1/64 of a denarius, or about 10 minutes of work for a day laborer].
43 Calling his ·followers [disciples] to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. 44 They gave ·only what they did not need [out of their surplus/abundance]. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had—everything she had to live on.”
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