Matthew 21:12-26:13

Lexham English Bible

The Cleansing of the Temple

¹² And Jesus entered the temple courts^[a] and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling doves. ¹³ And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[b] but you have made it a cave of robbers!”

¹⁴ And the blind and the lame came up to him in the temple courts^[c] and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when^[d] the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children shouting in the temple courts^[e] and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant. ¹⁶ And they said to him, “Do you hear what these children^[f] are saying?” So Jesus said to them, “Yes, have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of children and nursing babies you have prepared for yourself praise’?”^{[g] 17} And leaving them, he went outside of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.

A Barren Fig Tree Cursed

¹⁸ Now early in the morning, as he^[h] was returning to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ And seeing a single fig tree by the road, he went to it and found nothing on it except leaves only. And he said to it, “May there be no more fruit from you forever,^[i] and the fig tree withered at once. ²⁰ And when they^[j] saw it,^[k] the disciples were astonished, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” ²¹ And Jesus answered and^[l] said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will do not only what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,” it will happen! ²² And whatever you ask in prayer, if you^[m] believe, you will receive.”

Jesus’ Authority Challenged

²³ And after^[n] he arrived at the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him while he^[o] was teaching, saying, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ And Jesus answered and^[p] said to them, “I also will ask you one question. If you tell the answer^[q] to me, I also will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ From where was the baptism of John—from heaven or from men?” And they began to discuss^[r] this^[s] among themselves, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the crowd, because they all look upon John as a prophet.” ²⁷ And they answered and^[t] said to Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “Now what do you think? A man had two sons. He approached^[u] the first and^[v] said, ‘Son, go work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered and^[w] said, ‘I do not want to!’ But later he changed his mind and^[x] went. ³⁰ And he approached the second^[y] and^[z] said the same thing. So he answered and^[aa] said, ‘I will, sir,’ and he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his^[ab] father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going ahead of you into the kingdom of God! ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him. And when^[ac] you saw it,^[ad] you did not even change your minds later so as to believe in him.

The Parable of the Tenant Farmers in the Vineyard

³³ “Listen to another parable: There was a man—a master of a house—who planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey. ³⁴ And when the season of fruit drew near, he sent his slaves to the tenant farmers to collect his fruit. ³⁵ And the tenant farmers seized his slaves, one of whom they beat, and one of whom they killed, and one of whom they stoned. ³⁶ Again, he sent other slaves, more than the first ones, and they did the same thing to them. ³⁷ So finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when^[ae] the tenant farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance!’ ³⁹ And they seized him and^[af] threw him^[ag] out of the vineyard and killed him.^{[ah] 40} Now when the master of the vineyard arrives, what will he do to those tenant farmers?” ⁴¹ They said to him, “He will destroy those evil men completely and lease the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruits in their season.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures,

⁴³ For this reason, I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a people^[ak] who produce its fruits. ⁴⁴ And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls—it will crush him!” ⁴⁵ And when^[al] the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them, ⁴⁶ and although they^[am] wanted to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, because they looked upon him as a prophet.

The Parable of the Wedding Celebration

22 And continuing, Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man—a king—who gave a wedding celebration for his son. ³ And he sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the wedding celebration, and they did not want to come. ⁴ Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding celebration!”’ ⁵ But they paid no attention and^[an] went away—this one to his own field, that one to his business. ⁶ And the others, seizing his slaves, mistreated them^[ao] and killed them.^{[ap] 7} And the king was angry and sent his troops and^[aq] destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding celebration is ready, but those who had been invited were not worthy. ⁹ Therefore, go out to the places where the roads exit the city and invite to the wedding celebration as many people as you find.’ ¹⁰ And those slaves went out into the roads and^[ar] gathered everyone whom they found, both evil and good, and the wedding celebration was filled with dinner guests.^{[as] 11} But when^[at] the king came in to see the dinner guests,^[au] he saw a man there not dressed in wedding clothes. ¹² And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here, not having wedding clothes?’ But he could say nothing.^{[av] 13} Then the king said to the servants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot^[aw] and^[ax] throw him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ ¹⁴ For many are called but few are chosen.”

Paying Taxes to Caesar

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and consulted^[ay] so that they could entrap him with a statement. ¹⁶ And they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and you do not care what anyone thinks,^[az] because you do not regard the opinion of people.^{[ba] 17} Therefore tell us what you think. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” ¹⁸ But because he^[bb] knew their maliciousness, Jesus said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin for the tax!” So they brought him a denarius. ²⁰ And he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” ²¹ They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!” ²² And when they^[bc] heard this,^[bd] they were astonished, and they left him and^[be] went away.

A Question About Marriage and the Resurrection

²³ On that day Sadducees—who say there is no resurrection—came up to him and asked him, ²⁴ saying, “Teacher, Moses said if someone dies without having children, his brother is to marry his wife and father^[bf] descendants for his brother. ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers with us. And the first died after^[bg] getting married, and because he^[bh] did not have descendants, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ So also the second and the third, up to the seventh. ²⁷ And last of all the woman died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her as wife.”^{[bi] 29} But Jesus answered and^[bj] said to them, “You are mistaken, because^[bk] you do not know the scriptures or the power of God! ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God^[bl] in heaven. ³¹ Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, who said, ³² “I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”?^[bm] He is not the God of the dead, but of the living!” ³³ And when^[bn] the crowds heard this,^[bo] they were amazed at his teaching.

The Greatest Commandment

³⁴ Now when^[bp] the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled at the same place.^{[bq] 35} And one of them, a legal expert, put a question to him^[br] to test him: ³⁶ “Teacher, which commandment is greatest in the law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[bs] 38} This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[bt] 40} On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

David’s Son and Lord

⁴¹ Now while^[bu] the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “David’s.” ⁴³ He said to them, “How then does David, by the Spirit, call him ‘Lord,’ saying,

⁴⁵ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how is he his son?” ⁴⁶ And no one was able to answer him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask him any more questions.^[bw]

Seven Woes Pronounced on the Scribes and Pharisees

23 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, ² saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses. ³ Therefore do and observe everything that they tell you, but do not do as they do,^[bx] for they tell others to do something^[by] and do not do it themselves.^{[bz] 4} And they tie up heavy burdens^[ca] and put them^[cb] on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing with their finger to move them. ⁵ And they do all their deeds in order to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries broad and make their^[cc] tassels long. ⁶ And they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues ⁷ and the greetings in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people. ⁸ But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because one is your teacher, and you are all brothers, ⁹ And do not call anyone^[cd] your father on earth, for one is your heavenly Father. ¹⁰ And do not be called teachers, because one is your teacher, the Christ. ¹¹ And the greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you shut the kingdom of heaven before people! For you do not enter, nor permit those wanting to go in^[ce] to enter.^[cf]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you travel around the sea and the dry land to make one convert, and when he becomes one,^[cg] you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are!

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’^{[ch] 17} Fools and blind people! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’^{[ci] 19} Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? ²⁰ Therefore the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything that is on it. ²¹ And the one who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. ²² And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you pay a tenth of mint and dill and cumin, and neglect the more important matters of the law—justice and mercy and faithfulness! It was necessary^[cj] to do these things while not neglecting those.^{[ck] 24} Blind guides who filter out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence! ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish,^[cl] so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean! ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you also appear righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, ³⁰ and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets!’ ³¹ Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets! ³² And you—fill up the measure of your fathers! ³³ Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell? ³⁴ For this reason, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town, ³⁵ so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation!

The Lament over Jerusalem

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together the way^[cm] a hen gathers her young together under her^[cn] wings, and you were not willing! ³⁸ Behold, your house has been left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I tell you, you will never see me from now on until you say,

The Destruction of the Temple Predicted

24 And as Jesus went out of the temple courts^[cp] he was going along, and his disciples came up to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ² But he answered and^[cq] said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone will be left here on another stone that will not be thrown down!”

Signs of the End of the Age

³ And as^[cr] he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” ⁴ And Jesus answered and^[cs] said to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you! ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many. ⁶ And you are going to hear about wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.^{[ct] 8} But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

Persecution of Disciples Predicted

⁹ “Then they will hand you over to persecution and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations^[cu] because of my name. ¹⁰ And then many will be led into sin and will betray one another and will hate one another, ¹¹ and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many, ¹² and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end—this person will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations,^[cv] and then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination of desolation^[cw] spoken about by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place” (let the one who reads understand), ¹⁶ “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! ¹⁷ The one who is on his^[cx] housetop must not come down to take things out of his house, ¹⁸ and the one who is in the field must not turn back to pick up his cloak. ¹⁹ And woe to those who are pregnant^[cy] and to those who are nursing their babies^[cz] in those days! ²⁰ But pray that your flight may not happen in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will happen. ²² And unless those days had been shortened, no human being would be saved.^[da] But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.

²³ “At that time if anyone should say to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘Here he is,’ do not believe him!^{[db] 24} For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you ahead of time! ²⁶ Therefore if they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or^[dc] ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it!^{[dd] 27} For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Arrival of the Son of Man

²⁹ “And immediately after the tribulation of those days,

³⁰ And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,^[df] and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven^[dg] with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect together from the four winds, from one end of heaven^[dh] to the other end of it.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

³² “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch has already become tender and puts forth its^[di] leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also you, when you see all these things, know^[dj] that he is near, at the door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these things take place! ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Unknown Day and Hour

³⁶ “But concerning that day and hour no one knows—not even the angels of heaven nor the Son—except the Father alone. ³⁷ For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. ³⁸ For as in the days^[dk] before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark. ³⁹ And they did not know anything^[dl] until the deluge came and swept them^[dm] all away. So also the coming of the Son of Man will be. ⁴⁰ Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴² Therefore be on the alert, because you do not know what day your Lord is coming! ⁴³ But understand this: that if the master of the house had known what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ For this reason you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think he will come.^[dn]

A Faithful Slave and an Unfaithful Slave

⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise slave whom the master has put in charge of his household slaves to give them their^[do] food at the right time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he^[dp] comes back. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that evil slave should say to himself,^[dq] ‘My master is staying away for a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know, ⁵¹ and will cut him in two and assign his place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven may be compared to ten virgins who took their lamps and^[dr] went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ For when^[ds] the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take olive oil with them. ⁴ But the wise ones took olive oil in flasks with their lamps. ⁵ And when^[dt] the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.^{[du] 6} But in the middle of the night there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your olive oil, because our lamps are going out!’ ⁹ But the wise ones answered saying, “Certainly there will never be enough for us and for you! Go instead to those who sell olive oil^[dv] and buy some^[dw] for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ But while^[dx] they had gone away to buy it^[dy] the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding celebration, and the door was shut. ¹¹ And later the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open the door^[dz] for us!’ ¹² But he answered and^[ea] said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you!’ ¹³ Therefore be on the alert, because you do not know the day or the hour!

The Parable of the Talents

¹⁴ For it is like a man going on a journey. He summoned his own slaves and handed over his property to them. ¹⁵ And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each one according to his own ability, and he went on a journey immediately. ¹⁶ The one who had received the five talents went out and^[eb] traded with them and gained five more. ¹⁷ In the same way the one who had the two gained two more. ¹⁸ But the one who had received the one went away and^[ec] dug up the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ Now after a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And the one who had received the five talents came up and^[ed] brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents. See, I have gained five more talents!’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ ²² And the one who had the two talents also came up and^[ee] said, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents. See, I have gained two talents more!’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ ²⁴ And the one who had received the one talent came up also and^[ef] said, ‘Master, because I^[eg] knew you, that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering from where you did not scatter seed.^{[eh] 25} And because I^[ei] was afraid, I went away and^[ej] hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours!’ ²⁶ But his master answered and^[ek] said to him, ‘Evil and lazy slave! You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather from where I did not scatter seed.^{[el] 27} Then you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and when I^[em] returned I would have gotten back what was mine with interest! ²⁸ Therefore take the talent from him and give it^[en] to the one who has the ten talents. ²⁹ For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ³⁰ And throw the worthless slave into the outer darkness—in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’

The Judgment of the Sheep and the Goats

³¹ Now when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something^[eo] to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something^[ep] to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me as a guest, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,^[eq] or thirsty and give you something^[er] to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you^[es] as a guest, or naked and clothe you?^{[et] 39} And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ ⁴⁰ And the king will answer and^[eu] say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did it^[ev] to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it^[ew] to me.’ ⁴¹ Then he will also say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! ⁴² For I was hungry and you did not give me anything^[ex] to eat, I was thirsty and you did not give me anything^[ey] to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not care for me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not serve you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did not do it^[ez] to one of the least of these, you did not do it^[fa] to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The Chief Priests and Elders Plot to Kill Jesus

26 And it happened that when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ² “You know that after two days the Passover takes place, and the Son of Man will be handed over^[fb] in order to be crucified.”

³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas, ⁴ and plotted in order that they could arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.^{[fc] 5} But they were saying, “Not during the feast, so that there will not be an uproar among the people.”

Jesus’ Anointing at Bethany

⁶ Now while^[fd] Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, ⁷ a woman came up to him holding an alabaster flask of very expensive perfumed oil, and poured it^[fe] out on his head while he^[ff] was reclining at table. ⁸ And when^[fg] the disciples saw it^[fh] they were indignant, saying, “Why^[fi] this waste? ⁹ For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor!” ¹⁰ But Jesus, knowing this,^[fj] said to them, “Why do you cause trouble for the woman? For she has done a good deed for me. ¹¹ For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me. ¹² For when^[fk] this woman poured this ointment on my body, she did it^[fl] in order to prepare me for burial. ¹³ Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”