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OET (OET-LV) you_ not _anointed the head of_me, With_olive_oil, but this one anointed the feet of_me with_ointment.
In this section a Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to be the guest of honor at a dinner in his home. While Jesus was there, a sinful woman came and washed his feet with her tears. She dried them with her hair, kissed them, and poured scented oil on them. By these unusual actions, the woman honored Jesus and showed that she loved him.
By contrast, Simon neglected common ways to honor a guest. He did not greet Jesus with a kiss or give him water to wash his feet or put oil on his head. Jesus said that the woman’s acts of love showed that her sins had been forgiven. Simon’s failure to show love showed that his sins had not been forgiven.
Certain Jewish customs help to explain some of the actions in this story:
For special meals, the Jews usually ate at low tables and reclined on couches or cushions with their feet extended away from the table. This made it easier for the woman to kiss Jesus’ feet and pour perfume on them. (See the notes at 7:36b.)
When a religious teacher such as Jesus was invited to a feast, he ate with the host and the other invited guests. People who had not been invited were allowed to come in quietly and listen to what the teacher said. They were not supposed to join the invited guests.
Often a slave washed the feet of the guests. People considered feet to be dirty. When the woman washed Jesus’ feet and kissed them, she humbled herself and honored Jesus.
This section is not explicitly connected to the preceding one, but it does illustrate some of the statements in 7:29–35. The woman was a person who “acknowledged God’s justice” (7:29). Simon the Pharisee was one of those who “rejected God’s purpose for themselves” (7:30).
Some other possible headings for this section are:
A sinful woman washes Jesus’ feet at the home of a Pharisee named Simon
Jesus compares a Pharisee and a sinful woman
In this paragraph Jesus compared debts to sins. He also implied that the woman was like the man in the story who owed much money. Jesus was like the lender. The lender forgave the man his debt, and Jesus forgave the woman’s sins. The woman loved Jesus very much because he had forgiven her for many sins. Simon was like the man who borrowed only a little money. He did not love Jesus as much, because he thought that he did not need much forgiveness from Jesus.
anoint…anointed…with: The Greek verbs that the BSB translates as anoint and anointed…with are translations of the same verb that was translated as “anointed” in 7:38d. If it is natural in your language, you may use the same verb in these places. However, you may need to vary the form, as the Greek text does. For example:
38dand anointing them with the myrrh…. 46You did not anoint my head with oil; but she has anointed my feet with myrrh. (REB)
If your languages prefers to use different words, that is also fine. However, be sure to make the contrast between the woman and Simon clear.
You did not anoint My head with oil,
You(sing) did not honor me by anointing my head with olive oil,
You did not welcome me by putting oil on my head,
You did not anoint My head with oil: When a Jew wanted to honor a special guest, he anointed the guest’s head with oil. This showed extra courtesy to him. In some cultures people may not understand the meaning of putting oil on a person’s head. It may even seem like an unpleasant thing to do. If that is true in your culture, here are options to consider.
Make the meaning of the action explicit. For example:
You did not honor/welcome me by putting oil on my head
Use a more general expression. This may be a good option in places where oil is considered to be an unpleasant substance to put on the head. For example:
You did not honor me by anointing me
In some translations it may be good to explain this custom in a footnote. For example:
A host was not required to anoint his guest’s head with oil, but it was a special way to honor that person and show him kindness (Psalms 23:5, 141:5). (TRT)
oil: The oil that people used for anointing was olive oil. Olive oil cost very little compared with scented oil.
but she has anointed My feet with perfume.
but she has anointed my feet with scented oil.
but she has put sweet-smelling perfume on my feet to show her love.
but: Again Jesus contrasted the woman’s actions with Simon’s.
she has anointed My feet with perfume: Here Jesus spoke about the woman’s action in 7:38d. She anointed his feet with sweet-smelling oil. This oil was expensive compared to the oil that was normally used to anoint the head of a guest. The woman performed a more humble action in anointing Jesus’ feet instead of his head. Another way to translate this is:
this woman has welcomed/honored me by anointing/rubbing my feet with perfumed oil
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast
οὐκ ἤλειψας; αὕτη δὲ
not ˱you˲_anointed this_‹one› (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐλαίῳ τήν κεφαλήν μού οὐκ ἤλειψας αὕτη δέ μύρῳ ἤλειψεν τούς πόδας μού)
Jesus continues to contrast Simon’s poor hospitality with the actions of the woman.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἐλαίῳ τὴν κεφαλήν μου οὐκ ἤλειψας
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐλαίῳ τήν κεφαλήν μού οὐκ ἤλειψας αὕτη δέ μύρῳ ἤλειψεν τούς πόδας μού)
It was the custom in this culture to welcome an honored guest by pouring refreshing olive oil on his head. Alternate translation: [You did not welcome me by pouring oil on my head]
Note 3 topic: translate-symaction
ἤλειψεν τοὺς πόδας μου
anointed (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐλαίῳ τήν κεφαλήν μού οὐκ ἤλειψας αὕτη δέ μύρῳ ἤλειψεν τούς πόδας μού)
The woman greatly honored Jesus by doing this. She demonstrated humility and expressed her own sense of unworthiness by anointing his feet instead of his head. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [has anointed my feet to show her humility]
7:36-50 Jesus’ comment in 7:35 is now illustrated by one of “wisdom’s children” (see study note on 7:35), a repentant sinner who shows gratitude for the forgiveness she has received.
OET (OET-LV) you_ not _anointed the head of_me, With_olive_oil, but this one anointed the feet of_me with_ointment.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.