"For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured agains…" — Mark 14:5

Mark 14:5 · KJV

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

— Mark 14:5

Verse 4

And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?

Verse 6

And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

Mark 14 — Context

And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured {it} on his head. {spikenard: or, pure nard, or, liquid nard}

And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?

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

And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.

Cross References

Matthew 20:11

And when they had received {it}, they murmured against the goodman of the house,

John 13:29

For some {of them} thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy {those things} that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.

Exodus 16:7-8

And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what {are} we, that ye murmur against us?

Psalms 106:25

But murmured in their tents, {and} hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 1:27

And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

1 Corinthians 10:10

Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

John 12:5-6

Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

Matthew 18:28

But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took {him} by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. {pence: the Roman penny is the eighth part of an ounce, which after five shillings the ounce is seven pence halfpenny; about fourteen cents}