Matthew 26:6–26:13, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Matthew 26:6–26:13
A woman anoints Jesus for burial
She pours out what they call waste
At Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, a woman pours very costly ointment on Jesus' head as he reclines. The disciples are indignant: this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor. Jesus calls it a beautiful thing done to him. The poor you always have with you; you will not always have me. She has prepared him for burial. Wherever this good news is told in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.
Matthew leaves her unnamed. Related anointing stories in other Gospels differ in setting, body, and names; do not flatten them. Care for the poor remains Jesus' own concern; he will not let that concern be used to scold a woman's devotion as she faces his death.
How this should shape us
Honor costly love that looks impractical to the room. Remember this woman when you tell the gospel, and keep feeding the poor without using them as an argument against someone's grief or honor.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Which judgment needs visible uncertainty?
Best judgment: The Synoptics narrate related anointings differently; Matthew leaves the woman unnamed and her act can be honored without turning care for the poor into a dismissed concern.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Matthew 26:6–26:13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 26:6–26:13
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 26:6–26:13
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 26:6–26:13
Supports: Critical literary orientation with source, setting, historical, and theological judgments retained as interpretations.
Yale Bible Study, course unit 'Death and Resurrection,' Matthew 26-28 study guide
Supports: Whole-book orientation and unit placement, including visible uncertainty about authorship, date, setting, and purpose.
Enter the Bible Matthew course, 'Summary,' 'Outline,' 'Background,' 'Introductory Issues,' 'Theological Themes,' and passage index entry for Matthew 26:6–26:13
Supports: One complete confessional reading checked against the text, critical scholarship, and Jewish-context controls.
O'Donnell, online Matthew commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Matthew 26:6–26:13
Supports: Jewish setting, Scripture, Torah debate, named groups, practices, and anti-Judaism control at the passage address.
Gale, Matthew introduction and verse-addressed annotations, first-edition print pp. 1-54, exact annotation at Matthew 26:6–26:13
Supports: Literary-dependence analysis with Markan priority, Two-Source/Q, Farrer, and Matthean-priority alternatives kept distinct.
Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem, chapters 1-5, with the Synoptic parallels and order bearing on Matthew 26:6–26:13
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Matthew 26:6–26:13, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 26:6–26:13
Open the Matthew Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 26:6–26:13
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Matthew with Translators' and Textual Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 26:6–26:13
Open source ↗open university bible study course
The Gospel of Matthew Course and Study Guides
Harold W. Attridge and Michal Beth Dinkler
Yale Bible Study, Yale Divinity School, current 2026 online edition
Supports: Critical literary orientation with source, setting, historical, and theological judgments retained as interpretations.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, course unit 'Death and Resurrection,' Matthew 26-28 study guide
Open source ↗open seminary bible study course
Matthew Course
James L. Boyce; revised by Kristofer Phan Coffman
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2023 revision
Supports: Whole-book orientation and unit placement, including visible uncertainty about authorship, date, setting, and purpose.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Matthew course, 'Summary,' 'Outline,' 'Background,' 'Introductory Issues,' 'Theological Themes,' and passage index entry for Matthew 26:6–26:13
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
Matthew
Douglas Sean O'Donnell
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, current 2026 online edition
Supports: One complete confessional reading checked against the text, critical scholarship, and Jewish-context controls.
Exact location: O'Donnell, online Matthew commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Matthew 26:6–26:13
Open source ↗scholarly annotated translation
Matthew, in The Jewish Annotated New Testament
Aaron M. Gale; edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
Aaron M. Gale, Matthew introduction and annotations, print pp. 1-54; related essays and sidebars in The Jewish Annotated New Testament, first edition.
Supports: Jewish setting, Scripture, Torah debate, named groups, practices, and anti-Judaism control at the passage address.
Exact location: Gale, Matthew introduction and verse-addressed annotations, first-edition print pp. 1-54, exact annotation at Matthew 26:6–26:13
Open source ↗open access scholarly monograph
The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze
Mark Goodacre
T&T Clark; author-authorized open release, 2001; open release 2011
Supports: Literary-dependence analysis with Markan priority, Two-Source/Q, Farrer, and Matthean-priority alternatives kept distinct.
Exact location: Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem, chapters 1-5, with the Synoptic parallels and order bearing on Matthew 26:6–26:13
Open source ↗