Bible Strands
John 12:3
Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Mary acts during a dinner in Bethany hosted for Jesus, while Martha serves and Lazarus reclines at the table.
The words — λαβοῦσα (labousa) = having taken, and πιστικῆς (pistikēs) = pure, which the Greek text uses to describe the manner and quality of the nard.
The thread — The anointing event runs parallel to Mark 14:3, echoes the earlier description in John 11:2, and appears alongside Martha’s hospitality in Luke 10:38.
Why it lands — The text records a costly, tactile gesture that physically honors Jesus before his death, immediately followed by Judas’s question about the perfume’s value.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
Cross-references
- Mark 14:3 While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.
- John 11:2 (Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.)
- Luke 10:38 As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
- Matthew 26:6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper,
- Luke 7:37 When a sinful woman from that town learned that Jesus was dining there, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.
- John 11:32 When Mary came to Jesus and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
- John 11:28 After Martha had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside to tell her, “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”
- Luke 7:46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with perfume.
- Song of Solomon 4:13 Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates with the choicest of fruits, with henna and nard,
- Song of Solomon 1:3 The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens adore you.