Mark 14:1-11

New International Reader's Version

A Woman Pours Perfume on Jesus at Bethany

14 The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were plotting to arrest Jesus secretly. They wanted to kill him. ² “But not during the feast,” they said. “The people may stir up trouble.”

³ Jesus was in Bethany. He was at the table in the home of Simon, who had a skin disease. A woman came with a special sealed jar. It contained very expensive perfume made out of pure nard. She broke the jar open and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.

⁴ Some of the people there became angry. They said to one another, “Why waste this perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for more than a year’s pay. The money could have been given to poor people.” So they found fault with the woman.

⁶ “Leave her alone,” Jesus said. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ You will always have poor people with you. You can help them any time you want to. But you will not always have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body to prepare me to be buried. ⁹ What I’m about to tell you is true. What she has done will be told anywhere the good news is preached all over the world. It will be told in memory of her.”

¹⁰ Judas Iscariot was one of the 12 disciples. He went to the chief priests to hand Jesus over to them. ¹¹ They were delighted to hear that he would do this. They promised to give Judas money. So he watched for the right time to hand Jesus over to them.