The Anointing at Bethany

While(A) he was in Bethany(B) at the house of Simon the leper,[a](C) as he was reclining at the table,(D) a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured it on his head.(E) But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii[b](F) and given to the poor.”(G) And they began to scold her.

Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing(H) for me. You always have the poor(I) with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have me.(J) She has done what she could; she has anointed my body(K) in advance for burial.(L) Truly I tell you,(M) wherever the gospel(N) is proclaimed in the whole world,(O) what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

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Footnotes

  1. 14:3 Gk lepros; a term for various skin diseases; see Lv 13–14
  2. 14:5 A denarius = one day’s wage

While he was in Bethany,(A) reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.(B)

Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you,[b] and you can help them any time you want.(C) But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.(D) Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world,(E) what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 14:5 Greek than three hundred denarii
  2. Mark 14:7 See Deut. 15:11.