My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
Parallel translations
- WEB You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.
- BSB You did not anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with perfume.
- NKJV You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.
- NASB You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.
- NLT You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
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
Simon did not anoint Jesus' head with oil, but the woman anointed His feet with ointment. Her costly devotion shames the host's omission.
Overview
Anointing the head with oil was a gesture of honor that Simon neglected, yet the woman poured costly ointment on Jesus' feet. Her humility and lavish love stand in sharp relief against Simon's indifference. The threefold contrast prepares Jesus' verdict that her many sins, being forgiven, have produced great love.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 23:5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
- Eccl 9:8Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
- Matt 6:17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
- 2 Sam 14:2And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:
- Ruth 3:3Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
- Ps 104:15And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.
- Dan 10:3I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
- Amos 6:6That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
- Mic 6:15Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 7:46 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.