Matthew 26 · Verse 9

Matthew 26:9

For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
Matthew 26:9, King James Version

Matthew 26:9 in other translations

BSBThis perfume could have been sold at a high price, and the money given to the poor.”
WEBFor this ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”
ASVFor this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
YLTfor this ointment could have been sold for much, and given to the poor.'
DARBYfor this might have been sold for much and been given to the poor.
BBEFor we might have got much money for this and given it to the poor.
WebsterFor this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

What does Matthew 26:9 mean?

Barnes' Notes
Verse 9. Sold for much. Mark and John say for 300 pence; that is, for about 40 dollars, [about � 9.] This, to them, was a large sum. Mark says, they murmured against her. There was also an implied murmuring against the Saviour for suffering it to be done. The murmuring was, however, without cause. It was the property of Mary. She had a right to dispose of it as she pleased, answerable not to them, but to God. They had no right over it, and no cause of complaint ff it had been wasted. So Christians now are at liberty to dispose of their property as they please, either in distributing the Bible, in supporting the gospel, in sending it to heathen nations, or in aiding the poor. The world, like Judas, esteems it to be wasted. Like Judas, they are indignant. They say it might be disposed of in a better way. Yet, like Judas, they are interfering in that which concerns them not. Like other men, Christians have a right to dispose of their property as they please, answerable only to God. And though an avaricious world esteems it to be waste, yet if their Lord commands it, it will be found to be the only way in which it was right for them to dispose of that property, and will be found not to have been in vain.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 And given to the poor - How often does charity serve as a cloak for covetousness! God is sometimes robbed of his right under the pretense of devoting what is withheld to some charitable purpose, to which there was no intention ever to give it.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 26:6-13

The pouring ointment upon the head of Christ was a token of the highest respect. Where there is true love in the heart to Jesus Christ, nothing will be thought too good to bestow upon him. The more Christ's servants and their services are cavilled at, the more he manifests his acceptance. This act of faith and love was so remarkable, that it would be reported, as a memorial of Mary's faith and love, to all future…

Read the full comment on Matthew 26:6-13 →

Matthew 26:9 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἐδύνατοedunatoIt was possibleG1410
γὰρgarforG1063
τοῦτοtoutothisG3778
μύρονmuronfragrant oilG3464
πραθῆναιprathēnaito be soldG4097
πολλοῦpolloufor muchG4183
καὶkaiandG2532
δοθῆναιdothēnaito be givenG1325
πτωχοῖς.ptōchoisto [the] poor.G4434

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 26:9

  • John 12:5-6

    Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

  • Mark 14:5

    For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

  • Joshua 7:20-21

    And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.

  • 1 Samuel 15:21

    But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.

  • 1 Samuel 15:9

    But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

  • 2 Kings 5:20

    But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.

  • 2 Peter 2:15

    Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 7:20,21; 1Sa 15:9,21; 2Ki 5:20; Mr 14:5; Joh 12:5,6; 2Pe 2:15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Matthew 26:8

    But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?

  • Matthew 26:9

    For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

  • Matthew 26:10

    When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.

Read all of Matthew 26

Matthew 26:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Porque esto se podía vender por gran precio, y darse á los pobres.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Car ce parfum aurait pu être vendu pour une forte somme, et être donné aux pauvres.
German
Elberfelder 1871		denn dieses hätte um vieles verkauft und den Armen gegeben werden können.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		potuit enim istud venundari multo, et dari pauperibus.