The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.”
Parallel translations
- WEB For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.”
- KJV For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.
- NKJV For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”
- NASB For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
- NLT You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus notes that the poor are always present, but he is not. Devotion to him in this unique moment is fitting.
Overview
Jesus' words affirm ongoing care for the poor while underscoring the singular importance of honoring him before his death. He does not dismiss charity but highlights the unrepeatable occasion of his earthly presence. The statement vindicates Mary's worship as rightly timed and rightly placed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Deut 15:11For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.
- Mark 14:7The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.
- Matt 26:11The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.
- John 12:35Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
- John 13:33Little children, I am with you only a little while longer. You will look for Me, and as I said to the Jews, so now I say to you: ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’
- John 8:21Again He said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
- John 16:5–7Now, however, I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
- Acts 1:9–11After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.
- Song 5:6I opened for my beloved, but he had turned and gone. My heart sank at his departure. I sought him, but did not find him. I called, but he did not answer.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 12:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.