Mark 12:28–44

The Foremost Commandment

^28aAnd when one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, he ^brecognized that He had answered them well and asked Him, “What commandment is the ¹foremost of all?”

²⁹Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘^aHear, O Israel! The ¹Lord our God is one ²Lord;

^30aand you shall love the ¹Lord 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, ‘^aYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

³²And the scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that ^aHe is One, and there is no one else besides Him;

^33aand to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, ^bis much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴And when Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^aAfter that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions.

^35aAnd Jesus began to say, as He ^btaught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the ¹Christ is the ^cson of David?

³⁶“David himself said ¹in the Holy Spirit,

‘^aThe ²Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand,

Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.” ’

³⁷“David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And ^athe large crowd ¹enjoyed listening to Him.

^38aAnd in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who want to walk around in long robes, and want ^brespectful greetings in the marketplaces,

³⁹and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,

^40awho devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

^41aAnd He sat down opposite ^bthe treasury, and began observing how the crowd was ^cputting ¹money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.

⁴²And a poor widow came and put in two ¹lepta, which amount to a ²quadrans.

⁴³And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those putting money into the treasury;

⁴⁴for they all put in out of their ¹surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, ²all she had ^ato live on.”