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Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”
Matthew 26:13 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Most certainly I tell you, wherever this Good News is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of as a memorial of her.”
  • KJV Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.
  • BSB Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
  • NKJV Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
  • NLT I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

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 promises her deed will be told worldwide wherever the gospel is preached. He grants her an enduring memorial.

Overview

Jesus elevates this humble act of love to permanent gospel memory, fulfilled in the very reading of this passage today. Her worship is bound up with the proclamation of His death and resurrection, the Good News for all nations. The verse shows that what is offered in love to Christ has lasting, even eternal, significance.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Mark 14:9Most certainly I tell you, wherever this Good News may be preached throughout the whole world, that which this woman has done will also be spoken of for a memorial of her.”
  • Ps 112:6For he will never be shaken. The righteous will be remembered forever.
  • Matt 24:14This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
  • Isa 52:9Break out into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for Yahweh has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem.
  • Ps 98:2–3Yahweh has made known his salvation. He has openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
  • 1 Sam 2:30“Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me forever.’ But now Yahweh says, ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be lightly esteemed.
  • Heb 6:10For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the saints, and still do serve them.
  • Mark 13:10The Good News must first be preached to all the nations.
  • 2 Cor 10:18For it isn’t he who commends himself who is approved, but whom the Lord commends.
  • Matt 28:19Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
  • 1 Tim 2:6who gave himself as a ransom for all; the testimony in its own times;
  • Rom 15:19in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of God’s Spirit; so that from Jerusalem, and around as far as to Illyricum, I have fully preached the Good News of Christ;
  • Col 1:6which has come to you; even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
  • Rev 14:6I saw an angel flying in mid heaven, having an eternal Good News to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people.
  • Mark 16:15He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation.
  • Rom 10:18But I say, didn’t they hear? Yes, most certainly, “Their sound went out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
  • Luke 24:47and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
  • Col 1:23if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which is being proclaimed in all creation under heaven; of which I, Paul, was made a servant.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 26:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 26:13 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.