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John 12:2–8

bThere they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then cMary took a pound of very costly oil of dspikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

But one of His disciples, eJudas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for 2three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and fhad the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.

But Jesus said, Let her alone; 3she has kept this for the day of My burial. For gthe poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

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John 12:2–8 — The New International Version (NIV)

Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

John 12:2–8 — English Standard Version (ESV)

So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

John 12:2–8 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.

John 12:2–8 — New Living Translation (NLT)

A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

Jesus replied, Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

John 12:2–8 — New Century Version (NCV)

There they had a dinner for Jesus. Martha served the food, and Lazarus was one of the people eating with Jesus. Mary brought in a pint of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She poured the perfume on Jesus’ feet, and then she wiped his feet with her hair. And the sweet smell from the perfume filled the whole house.

Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ followers who would later turn against him, was there. Judas said, “This perfume was worth an entire year’s wages. Why wasn’t it sold and the money given to the poor?” But Judas did not really care about the poor; he said this because he was a thief. He was the one who kept the money box, and he often stole from it.

Jesus answered, “Leave her alone. It was right for her to save this perfume for today, the day for me to be prepared for burial. You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”

John 12:2–8 — American Standard Version (ASV)

So they made him a supper there: and Martha served; but Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat with him. Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, that should betray him, saith, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred shillings, and given to the poor? Now this he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the bag took away what was put therein. Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to keep it against the day of my burying. For the poor ye have always with you; but me ye have not always.

John 12:2–8 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

There therefore they made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those at table with him. Mary therefore, having taken a pound of ointment of pure nard of great price, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. One of his disciples therefore, Judas son of Simon, Iscariote, who was about to deliver him up, says, Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? But he said this, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag, and carried what was put into it. Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to have kept this for the day of my preparation for burial; for ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always.

John 12:2–8 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Dinner was prepared for Jesus in Bethany. Martha served the dinner, and Lazarus was one of the people eating with Jesus. 

Mary took a bottle of very expensive perfume made from pure nard and poured it on Jesus’ feet. Then she dried his feet with her hair. The fragrance of the perfume filled the house. 

One of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was going to betray him, asked, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for a high price and the money given to the poor?” (Judas didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and carried the contributions.) Jesus said to Judas, “Leave her alone! She has done this to prepare me for the day I will be placed in a tomb. You will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me with you.” 

John 12:2–8 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

So they gave a dinner for Him there; Martha was serving them, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of fragrant oil—pure and expensive nard—anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped His feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot (who was about to betray Him), said, “Why wasn’t this fragrant oil sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor?” He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money-bag and would steal part of what was put in it.

Jesus answered, Leave her alone; she has kept it for the day of My burial. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

John 12:2–8 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

John 12:2–8 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

So they made him a dinner there, and Martha was serving, but Lazarus was one of the ones reclining at table with him. Then Mary took a pound of ointment of very valuable genuine nard and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was going to betray him) said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (Now he said this not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, he used to steal what was put into it.) So Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my preparation for burial. For you have the poor with you always, but you do not always have me.”

John 12:2–8 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

A dinner was given at Bethany to honor Jesus. Martha served the food. Lazarus was among those at the table with Jesus.

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard. It was an expensive perfume. She poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the sweet smell of the perfume.

But Judas Iscariot didn’t like what Mary did. He was one of Jesus’ disciples. Later he was going to hand Jesus over to his enemies. Judas said, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold? Why wasn’t the money given to poor people? It was worth a year’s pay.”

He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor. He said it because he was a thief. Judas was in charge of the money bag. He used to help himself to what was in it.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “The perfume was meant for the day I am buried. You will always have the poor among you. But you won’t always have me.”

John 12:2–8 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.

Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said,

Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?

Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.

Therefore Jesus said, Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.

For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”


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