12:42a

Then: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then is often translated in English versions as “And,” as in the Revised Standard Version. The Berean Standard Bible uses Then because the widow gave her two coins after the rich people in 12:41c gave large amounts of money. Some English versions begin 12:42 with “but,” and some versions have no conjunction here. Connect 12:41 and 12:42 in a natural way in your language.

poor widow: A widow is a woman whose husband has died. Widows were often very poor.

12:42b

put in: The context implies that the widow put the coins into one of the same collection boxes where the rich people had put their gifts. The Berean Standard Bible has not made this explicit. In some languages you may need to make explicit the place where the widow put the coins.

two small copper coins: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as small copper coins refers to the smallest type of coin that people used at that time. (The name of this copper coin was leptos. It would take 128 of these coins to pay a laborer to work for one day. It is not clear whether this was a Roman coin or a Jewish coin.) You may have a word for a very small coin that you could use here, such as “penny” in English.

12:42c

which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius: The value of one of the coins that the widow gave was so small that together two of these coins were only worth a small fraction of a denarius.

Here is another way to translate this:

each worth not even a small fraction of a denarius

a small fraction of a denarius: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a small fraction of a denarius is more literally “a quadrans,” as in the New American Standard Bible. A “quadrans” was a Roman coin that was worth about one-eighth of a denarius. It would take 64 of these “quadrans” coins to equal one day’s wage for a laborer. Two of the small copper coins that the widow gave were worth one “quadrans.” Use a term in your language that refers to a small amount of money. For example:

a fraction of a penny (New International Version)
-or-
only a few pennies (NIRV)

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