In the Greek structure of this verse there are only two main verbs (poured … wiped), while took is a participle. For English readers it is more natural to restructure the statement as Good News Translation and several other translations do.

A whole pint (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “a bottle”) is rendered in most translations “a pound” (Phillips “a whole pound”). This Greek word appears only here and in John 19.39 in the New Testament. It corresponds to the Roman pound of 12 ounces, or 327.45 grams. Good News Translation translates a whole pint because of the word perfume that follows. The word translated perfume in Good News Translation and most other translations may also have the meaning of “ointment” (Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible). It is not certain which is referred to, but the indication is that it was a liquid rather than a salve, and so most translations have perfume. It is true that perfume was sold by weight, rather than by volume, but it is more natural to speak either of “a bottle of perfume” or “a pint of perfume” than of “a pound of perfume”; and so Good News Translation renders a whole pint … of perfume. What is important is not the kind of measurement, but the large amount involved and its high value. If the metric system is used, a whole pint may be rendered “about half a liter.”

Very expensive is not the same word used in the Markan account (14.3), but the meaning is basically the same. Most translations have the meaning of either expensive or “costly.” The word translated pure in Good News Translation (Greek pistikos) is rendered “pure” or “real” (“genuine”) in most translations. The word itself is of uncertain meaning, and other meanings given to it are “liquid,” “spike” (referring to the hair root of the nard plant from which the oil was derived), or “mixed with pistachio oil.” Among modern translators Goodspeed (“liquid spikenard”) is apparently the only one who gives the meaning of “liquid.” He translates nard with the meaning of “spikenard,” which is a synonym. The nard plant grows in the mountains of northern India, and from its root and hair stem is derived a very fragrant oil used in perfumes and ointments.

In some languages it may be necessary to specify the various attributives of the perfume by means of separate statements. The first statement may be simply “Then Mary took a whole pint of perfume,” which may be followed by such qualifiers as “This perfume cost a great deal of money, and it was made completely from a plant called nard” or “… it was made only from nard.” It may be useful to indicate by a marginal note the nature of the plant called “nard.” However, this cultural feature is not important. In most translations no reference is made to the plant from which the perfume was extracted.

The term one uses to translate poured will depend primarily upon the type of substance suggested by the translation of “perfume.” If a liquid is suggested, then obviously a term meaning “to pour” would be appropriate. If, however, “an ointment” is indicated, then such a term as “to put on” or “to rub on” would be required.

In rendering wiped them with her hair, the reference should be primarily to the wiping of the feet, not the wiping off of the nard.

The sweet smell of the perfume filled the whole house translates a passive Greek construction (“the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume”). It may not be possible to say “the sweet smell filled the whole house.” However, one can often say “people throughout the house smelled this sweet odor” or “… smelled the good perfume.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .