A Woman Anoints Jesus^(A)

³ While Jesus^[a] was in Bethany sitting at the table in the home of Simon the leper, a woman arrived with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume on his head. ⁴ Irritated, some who were there asked one another, “Why was the perfume wasted like this? ⁵ This perfume could have been sold for more than 300 denarii^[b] and the money^[c] given to the destitute.” So they got extremely angry with her.

⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me, ⁷ because you’ll always have the destitute with you and can help them whenever you want, but you won’t always have me. ⁸ She has done what she could. She poured perfume on my body in preparation for my burial. ⁹ I tell all of you^[d] with certainty, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

Mary Anoints Jesus^(A)

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany, where Lazarus lived,^[a] the man whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. ³ Mary took a litron^[b] of very expensive perfume made of pure nard and anointed Jesus’ feet. She wiped his feet with her hair, and the house became filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was going to betray him, asked, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for 300 denarii^[c] and the money^[d] given to the destitute?” ⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the destitute, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and would steal what was put into it.

⁷ Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone so she can observe the day of my burial, ⁸ because you will always have the destitute with you, but you won’t always have me.”