For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.
Parallel translations
- WEB For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.”
- BSB The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.”
- 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 the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
- Mark 14:7For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
- Matt 26:11For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
- John 12:35Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
- John 13:33Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
- John 8:21Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.
- John 16:5–7But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
- Acts 1:9–11And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
- Song 5:6I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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.