Mark 14:1-11

The Plot to Kill Jesus

1 Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread ^[a] were two days away, and the chief priests and scribes were looking for a covert way to arrest Jesus and kill Him. ¹

2 “But not during the feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

3 While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, ^[b] 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. ²

4 Some of those present, however, expressed their indignation to one another: “Why this waste of perfume?

5 It could have been sold for over three hundred denarii ^[c] and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her.

6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful deed to Me.

7 The poor you will always have with you, ^[d] and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.

8 She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial.

9 And truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. ³

11 They were delighted to hear this, and they promised to give him money. So Judas began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

Cross References

• 1. (Matthew 26:1–5; Luke 22:1–2; John 11:45–57)
• 2. (Matthew 26:6–13; Luke 7:36–50; John 12:1–8)
• 3. (Matthew 26:14–16; Luke 22:3–6)

Footnotes

• [a] Literally and the Unleavened; see Exodus 12:14–20.
• [b] Aramaic Simon the Potter or Simon the Jar Maker
• [c] A denarius was customarily a day’s wage for a laborer; see Matthew 20:2.
• [d] See Deuteronomy 15:11.