11:2

This verse gives some background information about one of the people in the story, Mary. In some languages it may be natural to indicate that this is background information by placing the verse in parentheses. For example:

(This Mary was the one who poured the perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.) (Good News Translation)

11:2a

Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick: This clause indicates that this Mary was the sister of the sick man, Lazarus. That means that Martha was also Lazarus’ sister.

Mary was a common name in Jesus’ time. There were many women named Mary living in Jerusalem and the surrounding villages. Several of them are mentioned in the Gospels. Here the author explained which Mary he was referring to. For example:

This Mary… (New International Version)

11:2b

was to anoint the Lord with perfume: This is background information. It mentions something that the original readers knew about Mary. This incident is not described until the next chapter. At the time of Lazarus’ illness it had not happened yet. In some languages it may be natural to make it explicit that this event had not happened yet. For example:

Mary was the woman who later put perfume on the Lord (New Century Version)

anoint the Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as anoint here means “pour on, put on.” Mary poured her perfume onto the Lord’s feet. In some languages it may be necessary to make it explicit that the Lord refers to Jesus:

poured perfume on the Lord ⌊Jesus⌋

perfume: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as perfume refers to any sweet-smelling oil. It would be put on people’s own bodies or on the bodies of dead people to make them smell nice. It is good to use the same word that you used in Matthew 26:7 and Mark 14:3.

11:2c

and wipe His feet with her hair: Verse 11:2b continues to give background information regarding Mary. After pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet, she wiped his feet dry with her long hair. In this way she gave Jesus great honor. The early Christians who read the Gospel knew about this and remembered her because of it.

General Comment on 11:1–2

In some languages it may be natural to rearrange the information in these verses. You may want to tell the reader when the women are introduced that Lazarus was their brother. It may then not be necessary to repeat the information that Lazarus was ill. For example:

1–2 Now a man named Lazarus was ill. He lived in the village of Bethany, where his sisters Mary and Martha also lived. (This was the Mary who anointed Jesus’ feet with oil and wiped them with her hair.)

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