Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mark C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16
Mark 14 V1 V4 V7 V10 V13 V16 V19 V22 V25 V28 V31 V34 V37 V40 V43 V46 V49 V52 V55 V58 V61 V64 V67 V70
OET (OET-LV) For/Because this the ointment was_able to_be_sold for_over three_hundred daʸnarion_coins and to_be_given to_the poor.
And they_were_admonishing to_her.
OET (OET-RV) then they scolded the woman because a flask of genuine lotion like this could easily fetch almost a year’s wages if it was sold.
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
A woman honors Jesus at Bethany
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 26:6–13 and John 12:1–8.
It could have been sold for over three hundred denarii
It was worth more than the money that a worker earns in a year. She should have sold it and used the money
She could have sold it for more money than a worker receives for a year’s work.
which she should have sold for an extremely large amount of money
In Greek this verse begins with a conjunction that the RSV translates as “for.” It introduces a statement explaining why the people thought that the woman had wasted the perfume when she poured it on Jesus. Most English versions do not translate the conjunction. Introduce this explanatory statement in a natural way in your language.
It could have been sold for over three hundred denarii: This statement describes an action that did not happen. The perfume was not sold. Instead, the woman poured it out on Jesus. The guests thought that it would have been better to sell it and get the money than to pour the perfume on Jesus. Consider whether your language has a special way to describe something that people would like to happen that actually did not happen.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
Rather it should have been sold.
It would have been better had she simply sold it.
over three hundred denarii: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as over three hundred denarii is literally “more than three hundred denarii.” A denarius was a Roman coin made of silver. It was the average daily wage, so it would take a worker about twelve months to earn three hundred denarii.
Most readers today will not know how much money “three hundred denarii” refers to. The main idea is that it was a large sum of money.
Here are some other ways to translate the phrase more than a year’s wages:
three hundred silver coins (GNT)
more than a person earns in a year
a small fortune (NLT96)
You should avoid translating this phrase with a term for the particular kind of currency used in your area, for two reasons:
It would not be historically accurate.
If the value of your currency changes, your translation will become outdated.
Refer to how you translated the similar expression “two hundred denarii” in 6:37b.
and the money given to the poor.”
to help poor people.”
Then she could have divided the money among poor people.”
so that she could give it to the poor people.
and: The word and introduces a result of selling the perfume and getting the money.
the money given to the poor: It was a custom for the Jews to give gifts to poor people during Passover. If the woman had sold the perfume, she could have used the money that she received to help poor people. See how you translated the similar idea in 10:21c.
The verbs in these two verse parts are passives. In some languages it may be necessary to express them as active verbs. The implied subject may be the woman or anyone in general. For example:
She could have sold it for more than a year’s wages and given the money from the sale to poor people.
We could have sold this perfume for more than three hundred silver coins and given the money to the poor! (CEV)
And they scolded her.
Then they turned to the woman and strongly/severely scolded her.
Because of their anger, they then severely criticized the woman.
So they began to angrily scold that woman.
And: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as And introduces how the people responded to the woman because they were indignant. After they expressed their indignation to one another (14:4a–b, 14:5a–b), they then rebuked the woman openly and directly.
Here are some other ways to connect 14:5c to 14:4a–14:5b:
Then
So (CEV)
Because of their anger
they scolded her: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as they scolded her means in this context that they showed anger by rebuking the woman.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
And they criticized her harshly. (GNT)
So they rebuked the woman strongly/severely.
Then they showed their anger by rebuking the woman.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἠδύνατο Γάρ τοῦτο τό μύρον πραθῆναι ἐπάνω δηναρίων τριακοσίων καί δοθῆναι τοῖς πτωχοῖς Καί ἐνεβριμῶντο αὐτῇ)
Here, the word For introduces a reason why these people say that the woman wasted the perfume. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a reason or basis for a claim, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: [We say that because] or [As a matter of fact,]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἠδύνατο & τοῦτο τὸ μύρον πραθῆναι ἐπάνω δηναρίων τριακοσίων, καὶ δοθῆναι
˓was˒_able & this (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἠδύνατο Γάρ τοῦτο τό μύρον πραθῆναι ἐπάνω δηναρίων τριακοσίων καί δοθῆναι τοῖς πτωχοῖς Καί ἐνεβριμῶντο αὐτῇ)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who would have done the action, it is clear from the context that would have been the woman. Alternate translation: [she was able to sell this perfumed oil for more than 300 denarii and give it]
Note 3 topic: translate-unknown
τὸ μύρον
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἠδύνατο Γάρ τοῦτο τό μύρον πραθῆναι ἐπάνω δηναρίων τριακοσίων καί δοθῆναι τοῖς πτωχοῖς Καί ἐνεβριμῶντο αὐτῇ)
See how you translated the phrase perfumed oil in [14:3](../14/03.md). Alternate translation: [oil with perfume in it]
Note 4 topic: translate-bmoney
ἐπάνω δηναρίων τριακοσίων
˱for˲_over denarii three_hundred
The word denarii refers to silver coins, each equivalent to about one day’s wage for a hired worker. You could try to express this amount in terms of current monetary values, but that might cause your Bible translation to become outdated and inaccurate, since those values can change over time. So instead you might state something more general or give the equivalent in wages. See how you translated denarii in [6:37](../06/37.md). Alternate translation: [for more than 300 silver coins] or [more than 300 days’ wages]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἐπάνω δηναρίων τριακοσίων, καὶ δοθῆναι
˱for˲_over denarii three_hundred (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἠδύνατο Γάρ τοῦτο τό μύρον πραθῆναι ἐπάνω δηναρίων τριακοσίων καί δοθῆναι τοῖς πτωχοῖς Καί ἐνεβριμῶντο αὐτῇ)
Here these people imply that the perfumed oil could have been sold for more than 300 denarii, and this money is what would been given to the poor. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [for more than 300 denarii, which could have been given]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj
τοῖς πτωχοῖς
˱to˲_the poor
These people are using the adjective poor as a noun to mean poor people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: [to people who are poor]
καὶ ἐνεβριμῶντο αὐτῇ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἠδύνατο Γάρ τοῦτο τό μύρον πραθῆναι ἐπάνω δηναρίων τριακοσίων καί δοθῆναι τοῖς πτωχοῖς Καί ἐνεβριμῶντο αὐτῇ)
Alternate translation: [And they were criticizing her harshly because of what she had done]
OET (OET-LV) For/Because this the ointment was_able to_be_sold for_over three_hundred daʸnarion_coins and to_be_given to_the poor.
And they_were_admonishing to_her.
OET (OET-RV) then they scolded the woman because a flask of genuine lotion like this could easily fetch almost a year’s wages if it was sold.
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.