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, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, 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).
ULTFor you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
USTShe did the right thing because poor people will always be among you whom you can help, but I will not be with you much longer.”
BSBThe poor you will always have with you,[fn] but you will not always have Me.”
TCNTFor you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
T4TThere will always be poor people among you, so you can help them whenever you want to. But I will not be with you much longer, so it is good that she showed right now how much she appreciates me.”
LEBFor you have the poor with you always, but you do not always have me.” ¶
BBEThe poor you have ever with you, but me you have not for ever.
WymthFor the poor you always have with you, but you have not me always."
ASVFor the poor ye have always with you; but me ye have not always.
DRAFor the poor you have always with you; but me you have not always.
YLTfor the poor ye have always with yourselves, and me ye have not always.'
Drbyfor ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always.
RVFor the poor ye have always with you; but me ye have not always.
WbstrFor the poor ye have always with you; but me ye have not always.
KJB-1769 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. ( For the poor always ye/you_all have with you; but me ye/you_all have not always.)
KJB-1611For the poore alwayes yee haue with you: but me ye haue not alwayes. (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
BshpsFor the poore alwayes shall ye haue with you: but me haue ye not alwayes. (For the poor always shall ye/you_all have with you: but me have ye/you_all not always.)
GnvaFor the poore alwayes yee haue with you, but me ye shall not haue alwayes. (For the poor always ye/you_all have with you, but me ye/you_all shall not have always. )
CvdlFor the poore haue ye allwaye with you, but me haue ye not allwaye. (For the poor have ye/you_all allwaye with you, but me have ye/you_all not allwaye.)
TNTThe poore all wayes shall ye have with you but me shall ye not all wayes have. (The poor always shall ye/you_all have with you but me shall ye/you_all not always have. )
Wyclfor ye schulen euermore haue pore men with you, but ye schulen not euermore haue me. (for ye/you_all should evermore have poor men with you, but ye/you_all should not evermore have me.)
LuthDenn Arme habt ihr allezeit bei euch; mich aber habt ihr nicht allezeit. (Because Arme have you/their/her allezeit at you; me but have you/their/her not allezeit.)
ClVgPauperes enim semper habetis vobiscum: me autem non semper habetis.[fn] (Pauperes because always habetis with_you: me however not/no always habetis. )
12.8Me autem non semper habetis. Corporali præsentia. Vel non habebitis, tu Juda et qui sunt hujusmodi, quia si mali jam communicant sacramentis, postea tamen non habent Dominum ut boni.
12.8Me however not/no always habetis. Corporali præsentia. Vel not/no habebitis, you Yuda and who are huyusmodi, because when/but_if mali yam communicant sacramentis, postea tamen not/no habent Dominum as boni.
UGNTτοὺς πτωχοὺς γὰρ πάντοτε ἔχετε μεθ’ ἑαυτῶν, ἐμὲ δὲ οὐ πάντοτε ἔχετε. (tous ptōⱪous gar pantote eⱪete meth’ heautōn, eme de ou pantote eⱪete.)
SBL-GNTτοὺς πτωχοὺς γὰρ πάντοτε ἔχετε μεθʼ ἑαυτῶν, ἐμὲ δὲ οὐ πάντοτε ἔχετε. (tous ptōⱪous gar pantote eⱪete methʼ heautōn, eme de ou pantote eⱪete.)
TC-GNTΤοὺς πτωχοὺς γὰρ πάντοτε ἔχετε μεθ᾽ ἑαυτῶν, ἐμὲ δὲ οὐ πάντοτε ἔχετε. (Tous ptōⱪous gar pantote eⱪete meth heautōn, eme de ou pantote eⱪete. )
the poor for always ˱you_all˲_/are/_having with yourselves me but not always ˱you_all˲_/are/_having
Jesus’ statement in this verse implies that Mary acted properly by pouring the expensive perfume on him. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “She acted appropriately, because you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me”
the poor & always ˱you_all˲_/are/_having with yourselves
Jesus implies that there will always be opportunities to help the poor. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “you always have the poor with you that you can help”
Jesus implies that he will not always be with them, because he will die. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “but I will not always be here with you”
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.
