Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT“For what reason was this perfumed oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor?”
UST“We should have sold this perfume for the money that a man can earn in 300 days of work. Then we could have given that money to poor people!”
BSB“Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii [fn] and the money given to the poor?”
12:5A denarius was customarily a day’s wage for a laborer; see Matthew 20:2.
BLB"Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
AICNT“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
OEB‘Why was not this perfume sold for a year’s wages, and the money given to poor people?’
WEBBE“Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii[fn] and given to the poor?”
12:5300 denarii was about a year’s wages for an agricultural labourer.
TCNT“Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?”
T4THe said, “◄We should have sold this perfume and given the money to poor people!/Why did we not sell this perfume and give the money for it to the poor people?► [RHQ] We could have gotten 300 days’ wages for it!”
LEB“Why[fn] was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
Wymth"Why was not that perfume sold for 300 shillings and the money given to the poor?"
ASVWhy was not this ointment sold for three hundred shillings, and given to the poor?
DRAWhy was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
YLT'Wherefore was not this ointment sold for three hundred denaries, and given to the poor?'
DrbyWhy was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?
RVWhy was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
WbstrWhy was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
KJB-1769Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
KJB-1611Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and giuen to the poore? (Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poore?)
BshpsWhy was not this oyntment solde for three hundred pence, and geuen to the poore? (Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poore?)
GnvaWhy was not this oyntment sold for three hundreth pence, and giuen to the poore? (Why was not this ointment sold for three hundreth pence, and given to the poore? )
CvdlWhy was not this oyntment solde for thre hundreth pens, and geuen to the poore? (Why was not this ointment sold for three hundreth pens, and given to the poore?)
TNTwhy was not this oyntmet solde for thre hondred pence and geve to the poore? (why was not this oyntmet sold for three hondred pence and give to the poore? )
Wyclseide, Whi is not this oynement seeld for thre hundrid pens, and is youun to nedi men? (seide, Whi is not this ointment seeld for three hundred pens, and is given to nedi men?)
LuthWarum ist diese Salbe nicht verkauft um dreihundert Groschen und den Armen gegeben? (Warum is this/these Salbe not verkauft around/by/for threehundert Groschen and the Armen given?)
ClVgQuare hoc unguentum non veniit trecentis denariis, et datum est egenis? (Quare this unguentum not/no veniit trecentis denariis, and datum it_is egenis? )
UGNTδιὰ τί τοῦτο τὸ μύρον οὐκ ἐπράθη τριακοσίων δηναρίων, καὶ ἐδόθη πτωχοῖς? (dia ti touto to muron ouk eprathaʸ triakosiōn daʸnariōn, kai edothaʸ ptōⱪois?)
SBL-GNTΔιὰ τί τοῦτο τὸ μύρον οὐκ ἐπράθη τριακοσίων δηναρίων καὶ ἐδόθη πτωχοῖς; (Dia ti touto to muron ouk eprathaʸ triakosiōn daʸnariōn kai edothaʸ ptōⱪois;)
TC-GNTΔιὰ τί τοῦτο τὸ μύρον οὐκ ἐπράθη τριακοσίων δηναρίων, καὶ ἐδόθη πτωχοῖς; (Dia ti touto to muron ouk eprathaʸ triakosiōn daʸnariōn, kai edothaʸ ptōⱪois; )
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).
for_reason why this ¬the ointment not /was/_sold ˱for˲_three_hundred denarii and /was/_given ˱to˲_/the/_poor
Judas is using a rhetorical question here to emphasize that he thought the perfumed oil should not be poured on Jesus. If you would not use a rhetorical question for this purpose in your language, you could translate his words as a statement or an exclamation, and communicate the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [This perfume could have been sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor!]
The word denarii is the plural form of “denarius.” It was a denomination of money in the Roman Empire that was equivalent to one days’ wages. Alternate translation: [for 300 days’ wages]
Judas is using the adjective poor as a noun in order to describe a group of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this with a noun phrase. Alternate translation: [to people who are poor]
Much like the difficulties of discerning the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land (see here), the task of reconciling the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem into one coherent itinerary has proven very challenging for Bible scholars. As with many other events during Jesus’ ministry, the accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (often referred to as the Synoptic Gospels) present a noticeably similar account of Jesus’ final travels, while John’s Gospel presents an itinerary that is markedly different from the others. In general, the Synoptic Gospels present Jesus as making a single journey to Jerusalem, beginning in Capernaum (Luke 9:51), passing through Perea (Matthew 19:1-2; Mark 10:1) and Jericho (Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-19:10), and ending at Bethany and Bethphage, where he enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44). John, on the other hand, mentions several trips to Jerusalem by Jesus (John 2:13-17; 5:1-15; 7:1-13; 10:22-23), followed by a trip to Perea across the Jordan River (John 10:40-42), a return to Bethany where he raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11), a withdrawal to the village of Ephraim for a few months (John 11:54), and a return trip to Bethany, where he then enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey (John 12:1-19). The differences between the Synoptics’ and John’s accounts are noteworthy, but they are not irreconcilable. The Synoptics, after noting that Jesus began his trip at Capernaum, likely condensed their accounts (as occurs elsewhere in the Gospels) to omit Jesus’ initial arrival in Jerusalem and appearance at the Festival of Dedication, thus picking up with Jesus in Perea (stage 2 of John’s itinerary). Then all the Gospels recount Jesus’ trip (back) to Bethany and Jerusalem, passing through Jericho along the way. Likewise, the Synoptics must have simply omitted the few months Jesus spent in Ephraim to escape the Jewish leaders (stage 4 of John’s itinerary) and rejoined John’s account where Jesus is preparing to enter Jerusalem on a donkey.
Bethany and Bethphage
Matthew 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-48; John 12:1-19; see also Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9
At the start of Passover one week before he was crucified, Jesus and his disciples traveled to Jerusalem, approaching the city from the east. When they arrived at the village of Bethphage, Jesus mounted a donkey and rode down the Mount of Olives as a humble king entering his capital city. Along the way, many people laid branches and cloaks in his path to welcome him. After Jesus entered the city, he immediately went up to the Temple and drove out the moneychangers and merchants there, and he healed the blind and the lame. Then he traveled nearly two miles outside the city to the village of Bethany to spend the night, which appears to have been where he typically lodged each night while visiting Jerusalem during the crowded Passover festival. Bethany is also where Jesus’ close friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived. One evening while Jesus was there at a large dinner party given in his honor, Martha served the food, and Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair.
