You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.
Parallel translations
- WEB You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.
- KJV My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
- BSB You did not anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with perfume.
- 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 23:5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.
- Eccl 9:8Let your garments be always white, and don’t let your head lack oil.
- Matt 6:17But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face;
- 2 Sam 14:2Joab sent to Tekoa, and brought a wise woman from there, and said to her, “Please act like a mourner, and put on mourning clothing, please, and don’t anoint yourself with oil, but be as a woman who has mourned a long time for the dead.
- Ruth 3:3Therefore wash yourself, anoint yourself, get dressed, and go down to the threshing floor, but don’t make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
- Ps 104:15wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart.
- Dan 10:3I ate no pleasant bread, neither came meat nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, until three whole weeks were fulfilled.
- Amos 6:6who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
- Mic 6:15You will sow, but won’t reap. You will tread the olives, but won’t anoint yourself with oil; and crush grapes, but won’t drink the wine.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.