A Woman with Perfume for Jesus^(A)

³ Jesus was in Bethany at the house of ·Simon, who had a skin disease [^LSimon the leper; ^Cfor leprosy, see 1:40; Simon may have been healed by Jesus]. While Jesus was ·eating there [^Lreclining; ^Cthe posture for a banquet or dinner party; 2:15], a woman approached him with an alabaster ·jar [vial] filled with very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She ·opened [broke open] the ·jar [vial] and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.

⁴ Some who were there became ·upset [indignant] and said to each other, “Why waste that perfume? ⁵ It was worth ·a full year’s work [^Lover three hundred denarii]. It could have been sold and the money given to the poor.” And they ·got very angry with [harshly scolded] the woman.

⁶ Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you ·troubling [bothering; criticizing] her? She did an ·excellent thing [beautiful/good deed] for me. ⁷ You will always have the poor with you, and you can help them anytime you want [Deut. 15:11]. But you will not always have me. ⁸ This woman did the only thing she could do for me; she ·poured perfume on [anointed] my body to prepare me for burial. ⁹ I tell you the truth, wherever the ·Good News [Gospel] is preached in all the world, what this woman has done will be told, and people will remember her.”