Matthew 26:10
ESV
But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me.
NIV
Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.
NASB
But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, 'Why are you bothering the woman? For she has done a good deed for Me.
CSB
Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for me.
NLT
But Jesus, aware of this, replied, 'Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me?
KJV
When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
NKJV
But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me.
What does Matthew 26:10 mean?
The disciples have not been impressed by a woman's extravagant act of devotion and worship. She has opened an enormously-expensive bottle of perfumed oil and has poured it all over Jesus' head. If John 12:1–11 tells the same story, the perfume was worth nearly as much as a year's wages and the woman poured it over Jesus' feet, as well.The disciples condemned the woman for this, at least to each other. Why not sell that expensive bottle of oil and give all the money to the poor? Why seemingly waste it, anointing Jesus in this outrageous way?
Jesus, though, knows what they're thinking and saying to each other. He rebukes them and uses a question to tell them to leave the woman alone. Jesus describes her extravagant act of devotion as a beautiful thing. He will show that in pouring this oil over Him, this woman has begun to prepare Him for the burial that will follow the brutal events of the coming days, something the disciples still don't seem to grasp.
