Luke 7:37

Then ¹  when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus ²  was dining ³  at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar ⁴  of perfumed oil. ⁵ 

When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,

And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,

A certain immoral woman heard he was there and brought a beautiful jar filled with expensive perfume.

Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume

And there was a woman in the town who was a sinner; and when she had news that he was a guest in the Pharisee’s house, she took a bottle of perfume,

And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment.

And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,

Then ¹  when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus ²  was dining ³  at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar ⁴  of perfumed oil. ⁵ 

¹ tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “was reclining at table.”

⁴ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

⁵ tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 38 and in v. 46.

sn Nard or spikenard is a fragrant oil from the root and spike of the nard plant of northern India. This perfumed oil, if made of something like nard, would have been extremely expensive, costing up to a year’s pay for an average laborer.