Mark 12:20

New Century Version

Once there were seven brothers. The first brother married and died, leaving no children.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring.

King James Version (1611)
Now there were seuen brethren: and the first tooke a wife, and dying left no seede.

King James Version
Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.

English Standard Version
There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.

New American Standard Bible
"There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children.

Amplified Bible
"There were seven brothers; the first [one] took a wife, and died leaving no children.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children.

Legacy Standard Bible
There were seven brothers; and the first married a wife, and died leaving no seed.

Berean Standard Bible
Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died, leaving no children.

Contemporary English Version
There were once seven brothers. The first one married, but died without having any children.

Complete Jewish Bible
There were seven brothers. The first one took a wife, and when he died, he left no children.

Darby Translation
There were seven brethren; and the first took a wife, and dying did not leave seed;

Easy-to-Read Version
There were seven brothers. The first brother married but died. He had no children.

Geneva Bible (1587)
There were seuen brethren, and the first tooke a wife, and when he died, left no issue.

George Lamsa Translation
Now there were seven brothers; the first one took a wife and died, and left no off- spring.

Good News Translation
Once there were seven brothers; the oldest got married and died without having children.

Lexham English Bible
There were seven brothers, and the first took a wife. And when he died, he did not leave descendants.

Literal Translation
Then there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and dying, he left no seed.

American Standard Version
There were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed;

Bible in Basic English
There were seven brothers: and the first took a wife, and at his death there were no offspring;

Hebrew Names Version
There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring.

International Standard Version
There were seven brothers. The first one married and died without having children.

Etheridge Translation
Seven brethren there were. The first took a wife, and died, and left not seed.

Murdock Translation
There were seven brothers: and the first took a wife, and died, and left no seed.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
There were seuen brethren: and the first toke a wyfe, and when he dyed, left no seede behynde hym.

English Revised Version
There were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed;

World English Bible
There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
There were seven brethren, and the first took a wife, and dying, left no seed.

Weymouth's New Testament
There were once seven brothers, the eldest of whom married a wife, but at his death left no family.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thanne seuene britheren ther weren; and the firste took a wijf, and diede, and lefte no seed.

Update Bible Version
There were seven brothers: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed;

Webster's Bible Translation
Now there were seven brothers: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.

New English Translation
There were seven brothers. The first one married, and when he died he had no children.

New King James Version
Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.

New Living Translation
Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children.

New Life Bible
There were seven brothers. The first was married. He died before he had any children.

New Revised Standard
There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Seven brethren, there were: and, the first, took a wife, and, dying, left no seed, -

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife and died leaving no issue.

Revised Standard Version
There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no children;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Ther were seven brethren: and the fyrst toke a wyfe and when he dyed leeft no seed behynde him.

Young's Literal Translation
`There were then seven brothers, and the first took a wife, and dying, he left no seed;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Now were there seuen brethren: the first toke a wife, and dyed, and left no sede:

Mace New Testament (1729)
now there were seven brothers: the first married a wife and died, leaving her without any children.

Simplified Cowboy Version
Say there were seven brothers and the oldest brother marries a woman, but dies before they have any kids.

Contextual Overview

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 for his brother. ²⁰ Once there were seven brothers. The first brother married 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, whose wife will she be?" ²⁴ Jesus answered, "Why don't you understand? Don't you know what the Scriptures say, and don't you know about the power of God? ²⁵ 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 what God said about people rising from the dead. In the book in which Moses wrote about the burning bush, it says that God told Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' ²⁷ God is the God of the living, not the dead. You Sadducees are wrong!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Matthew 22:25-28, Luke 20:29-33

Reciprocal: Mark 2:25 - Have

Cross-References

Genesis 12:6
Abram traveled through that land as far as the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. The Canaanites were living in the land at that time.

Genesis 12:11
Just before they arrived in Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know you are a very beautiful woman.

Genesis 12:14
When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful.

Genesis 12:15
The Egyptian officers saw her and told the king of Egypt how beautiful she was. They took her to the king's palace, and

Exodus 18:27
So Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro went back to his own home.

Proverbs 21:1
The Lord can control a king's mind as he controls a river; he can direct it as he pleases.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now there were seven brethren,.... In a certain family, at a certain place; perhaps at Jerusalem, who were brethren by the father's side; for such only were reckoned so, and such only did this law oblige:

and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed: no child: hence it is clear that the ancient Jews used the word seed, of a single person, as these Sadducees did; though modern ones deny such an use of it in our present controversies with them about the sense of Genesis 3:15;

Genesis 3:15- :.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See this passage fully explained in the notes at Matthew 22:23-33.

Mark 12:25

Are as the angels - That is, as the angels in respect to connections and relations. What those connections and relations may be we know not, but this passage teaches that the special relation of “marriage” will not exist. It does not affirm, however, that there will be no recollection of former marriages, or no recognition of each other as having existed in this tender relation.

Mark 12:26

How in the bush - At the burning bush. See Exodus 3:16. The meaning is, “in that part of the book of Exodus which contains the account of the burning bush. When there were no chapters and verses, it was the easiest way of quoting a book of the Old Testament “by the subject,” and in this way it was often done by the Jews.