John 12:3

³While he was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster jar of ointment of pure nard—very costly. She broke the jar and poured it over his head. ⁴But there were some who were indignant among themselves, saying, “Why has this ointment been wasted? ⁵For this might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii^[+] and given to the poor.” So they grumbled against her.

⁶But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me. ⁷For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want to, you can do them good; but you will not always have me. ⁸She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for the burying. ⁹Most certainly I tell you, wherever this Good News may be preached throughout the whole world, that which this woman has done will also be spoken of for a memorial of her.”

²It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

³⁸As they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. ³⁹She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word.

³⁷Behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that he was reclining in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. ³⁸Standing behind at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

⁶Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, ⁷a woman came to him having an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. ⁸But when his disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹For this ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”

¹⁰However, knowing this, Jesus said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has done a good work for me. ¹¹For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me. ¹²For in pouring this ointment on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. ¹³Most certainly I tell you, wherever this Good News is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of as a memorial of her.”

³²Therefore when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”

²⁸When she had said this, she went away and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling you.”

⁴⁶You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

¹³Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits, henna with spikenard plants, ¹⁴spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree; myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices,

³Your oils have a pleasing fragrance. Your name is oil poured out, therefore the virgins love you.