Section 14:3–9
A woman honored Jesus by pouring perfume on his head
In this section, Mark told how a woman honored Jesus. She did this by pouring very expensive perfume on his head while he was eating with some friends. Jesus said that what the woman did prepared his body for burial. Her action contrasted sharply with the way the Jewish leaders were plotting to arrest and kill Jesus in the previous section (14:1–2). It also contrasted with Judas’ offer to betray Jesus in the next section (14:10–11).
The events in this section happened in Bethany, which was near Jerusalem on the slope of the Mount of Olives. Before 14:3, the last reference to Jesus’ location was in 13:3, which tells us that “Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives.” Mark 11:11–12 indicates that Jesus stayed in Bethany at night and went to Jerusalem during the day.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
A woman pours perfume on Jesus’ head
-or-
A woman honors Jesus at Bethany
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 26:6–13 and John 12:1–8.
Paragraph 14:3–5
14:3a–b
While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper: The clause While Jesus was in Bethany introduces a new story that contrasts with the story in 14:1–2. While the chief priests and elders were plotting against him in 14:1–2, Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a friend. Begin this story in a natural way in your language.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had leprosy. (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)
-or-
Jesus was eating in Bethany at the house of Simon (Contemporary English Version)
From 14:4a we know that Jesus was not eating alone. In some languages it may be more natural to indicate that here. For example:
Jesus and others
Bethany: Bethany was a village on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. It was about four kilometers from Jerusalem.
reclining at the table: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as reclining at the table is literally just “reclining” or “lying.” In this context it probably means that Jesus was lying on his side, on a low couch or cushion. His head was propped on one elbow. This was one of the positions that people of Jesus’ time used when they ate, especially if it was a special meal. However, the position is not in focus here. (According to Louw & Nida people in Bible times ate in different positions. (1) They reclined on a couch or cushions facing a low table; (2) they sat on chairs around a table; and (3) they sat on cushions around a table.)
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
• Keep the position and add an explanatory phrase. For example:
reclining at the table (New International Version)
-or-
lying on his side eating
• Use a position that people normally use for eating in your culture. For example, the Revised Standard Version says:
as he sat at the table
• Omit the position and just say what Jesus was doing. For example, the Good News Bible says:
While Jesus was eating
See also the notes on 2:15a, where the Berean Standard Bible translates a similar Greek word as “dining.”
In some languages it may be natural to first mention that Jesus was eating, and then introduce what happened while he was eating. For example:
Jesus was in Bethany, eating at the home of Simon the Leper. While he was eating…
Simon the Leper: The phrase Simon the Leper refers to a man named Simon who had been sick with the disease called “leprosy.” The name Simon was a common name, so people probably added the phrase the Leper to identify him.
According to Jewish law, lepers were not allowed to visit with healthy people or to eat with them. For this reason, most scholars believe that Simon was already healed from his leprosy. In some languages it may be best to indicate this explicitly. For example:
Simon, whose leprosy was healed
-or-
a man called Simon, who once had been a leper
-or-
Simon, a man who had suffered from a dreaded skin disease (Good News Bible)
Leper: A Leper is a person who has a skin disease called “leprosy.” The Greek word that many English versions translate as “leprosy” refers to a variety of dreaded skin diseases. This same word occurs in 1:40a.
14:3c
a woman came with an alabaster jar: This clause indicates that a woman came to the place where Jesus was. She was carrying a beautiful jar.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
a woman came in carrying a bottle made of alabaster
-or-
a certain woman brought a lovely/expensive stone vial
a woman: Mark does not indicate who this woman was. Introduce her into the story in a natural way in your language.
alabaster jar: An alabaster jar was a small, expensive container like a vial or bottle. It was made from a beautiful white and yellow stone called alabaster that came from Egypt.
Here are some other ways to translate the word alabaster:
• Borrow the word from a major language version and add a descriptive phrase. For example:
a flask/bottle made of alabaster
-or-
a jar/bottle made of a beautiful stone called alabaster
If you use this option, be careful that the descriptive phrase fits smoothly into the story and does not distract the reader with unnecessary details. Interesting but unnecessary details can be put in a footnote if desired.
• Use a descriptive phrase that describes the significance of “alabaster” in the context. For example:
a beautiful bottle/vial
• Use a general term. For example:
a bottle (Revised English Bible, God’s Word)
You should not substitute a different locally-known material for “alabaster,” because this verse is describing a historical incident.
14:3d
of expensive perfume, made of pure nard: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as perfume refers here to a sweet-smelling oil. This particular perfume cost a lot of money.
Here are some other ways to translate the phrase of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard:
filled with a very expensive sweet-smelling oil made from pure nard
-or-
…filled with perfume. The price of this perfume was very high because it was made from pure/undiluted nard oil.
made of pure nard: The Greek word that most English versions translate as pure probably indicates that the nard was not diluted or mixed with anything else. It was one hundred percent nard. The nard would be very expensive because it was pure.
nard: The word nard is the name of the oil from a plant called spikenard or nard.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
• Borrow the term and spell it according to the sounds of your language. For example:
nardi
-or-
narade
• Borrow the term and add a descriptive phrase. For example:
an oil called nard
-or-
a good-smelling oil called nard
14:3e
She broke open the jar: The woman intentionally broke or snapped the narrow neck of the jar in order to open it and easily pour out the perfume. Opening the jar in this way may also have indicated that she intended to pour out all the perfume. (A number of commentaries say that breaking the bottle also indicated that it could not be used again. None of the commentaries used in preparing these notes clarified whether there were alternate ways of opening sealed alabaster perfume flasks or whether such flasks could be resealed, so it is difficult to know whether the woman’s intention was to keep the flask from being reused.) It may be necessary to make some of the implied information explicit so that your readers understand why the woman broke the jar. For example:
She broke open the jar (New Living Translation)
-or-
She opened the flask/bottle by breaking off its neck
-or-
She snapped/broke off the neck/lip of the bottle
Your translation should not imply that the woman smashed the entire jar or that she broke it over Jesus’ head. It should also not imply that she broke it accidentally. In some languages it may be too awkward to clearly explain how the woman broke the jar. If that is true in your language, consider translating in a general way. For example:
She opened the bottle (God’s Word)
14:3f
and poured it on Jesus’ head: In Jewish culture people often poured oil on the head of an important guest. This showed courtesy and hospitality toward him. When the woman poured perfume on Jesus’ head, she honored him in a greater way than guests were normally honored. (In that culture women did not interrupt men who were eating except to serve them more food. So the woman showed special courage in pouring this expensive perfume on Jesus’ head during the meal.) The woman did not use ordinary anointing oil. She poured all the expensive perfume on Jesus.
In some cultures people may be confused by the action of pouring perfume on the head of a guest. It may express a wrong meaning. If this is true in your language, it may be necessary to indicate the purpose of the action. For example:
poured the perfume on his head to honor him
© 2008 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.