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Mark 14:1–5

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14 xIt was now two days before ythe Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes zwere seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, for they said, “Not during the feast, alest there be an uproar from the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

bAnd while he was at cBethany in the house of Simon the leper,1 as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii2 and dgiven to the poor.” And they escolded her.

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Mark 14:1–5 — The New International Version (NIV)

Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

While he was in Bethany, 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.

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 and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

Mark 14:1–5 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.

And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

Mark 14:1–5 — New Living Translation (NLT)

It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”

Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.

Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. “It could have been sold for a year’s wages and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly.

Mark 14:1–5 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.”

And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.

Mark 14:1–5 — New Century Version (NCV)

It was now only two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and teachers of the law were trying to find a trick to arrest Jesus and kill him. But they said, “We must not do it during the feast, because the people might cause a riot.”

Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, who had a skin disease. While Jesus was eating there, a woman approached him with an alabaster jar filled with very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She opened the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.

Some who were there became upset and said to each other, “Why waste that perfume? It was worth a full year’s work. It could have been sold and the money given to the poor.” And they got very angry with the woman.

Mark 14:1–5 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Now after two days was the feast of the passover and the unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him with subtlety, and kill him: for they said, Not during the feast, lest haply there shall be a tumult of the people.

And while he was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster cruse of ointment of pure nard very costly; and she brake the cruse, and poured it over his head. But there were some that had indignation among themselves, saying, To what purpose hath this waste of the ointment been made? For this ointment might have been sold for above three hundred shillings, and given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

Mark 14:1–5 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

Now the passover and the feast of unleavened bread was after two days. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might seize him by subtlety and kill him. For they said, Not in the feast, lest perhaps there be a tumult of the people. And when he was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he lay at table, there came a woman having an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly; and having broken the alabaster flask, she poured it out upon his head. And there were some indignant in themselves, and saying, Why has this waste been made of the ointment? for this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor. And they spoke very angrily at her.

Mark 14:1–5 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

It was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings were looking for some underhanded way to arrest Jesus and to kill him. However, they said, “We shouldn’t arrest him during the festival, or else there will be a riot among the people.” 

Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had suffered from a skin disease. While Jesus was sitting there, a woman went to him. She had a bottle of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She opened the bottle and poured the perfume on his head. 

Some who were there were irritated and said to one another, “Why was the perfume wasted like this? This perfume could have been sold for a high price, and the money could have been given to the poor.” So they said some very unkind things to her. 

Mark 14:1–5 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

After two days it was the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a treacherous way to arrest and kill Him. “Not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be rioting among the people.”

While He was in Bethany at the house of Simon who had a serious skin disease, as He was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of pure and expensive fragrant oil of nard. She broke the jar and poured it on His head. But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this fragrant oil been wasted? For this oil might have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor.” And they began to scold her.

Mark 14:1–5 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; for they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”

While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. But some were there who said to one another in anger, “Why was the ointment wasted in this way? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her.

Mark 14:1–5 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Now after two days it was the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how, after arresting him by stealth, they could kill him. For they said, “Not at the feast, lest there be an uproar by the people.”

And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining for a meal, a woman came holding an alabaster flask of very costly perfumed oil of genuine nard. After breaking the alabaster flask, she poured it out on his head. But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has there been this waste of perfumed oil? For this perfumed oil could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor!” And they began to scold her.

Mark 14:1–5 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for a clever way to arrest Jesus. They wanted to kill him. “But not during the Feast,” they said. “The people may stir up trouble.”

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

Some of the people there became angry. They said to one another, “Why waste this perfume? 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.

Mark 14:1–5 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him;

for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people.”

While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head.

But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted?

“For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her.


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