55 wNow the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover xto purify themselves. 56 They were ylooking for1 Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might zarrest him.
Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany
1 aSix days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, bwhere Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. cMartha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
3 oAnd while he was at Bethany 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.
3 Mary therefore took a pound1 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.
8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred ddenarii1 and egiven to the poor?” 6 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. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it2 ffor the day of my burial.
6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For qyou always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has ranointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
The Plot to Kill Lazarus
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus1 was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death has well, 11 because on account of him imany of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
