John 12:6

He said that, not because he cared about the poor people, but instead, because he was a thief. He was the one who kept the bag of funds that people gave to help Jesus and us his disciples, and he often stole some of the money that was {that people} put into it.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

In Context

5He said, “◄We should have sold this perfume and given the money to poor people!/Why did we not sell this perfume and give the money for it to the poor people?► [RHQ] We could have gotten 300 days’ wages for it!”

7Then Jesus said, “Do not bother her! She bought this perfume in order to save it until the day when they will bury me after I die.

Read all of John 12

Cross References

2 Kings 12:14All that money was given to the men who were doing the work of repairing the temple.

Psalms 14:1Only foolish people say to themselves, “There is no God!” People who say those things are corrupt/worthless; they do abominable/detestable deeds; there is not one of them who does what is good/right.

Proverbs 29:7Righteous/Good people know that poor people should be treated fairly/justly, but wicked people ◄are not concerned about/do not pay attention to► those matters at all.

Matthew 21:13Then he said to them, “It is {◄ Jeremiah/A prophet► has} written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘ I want my house to be called a place where people pray’, but you bandits have made it [MET] your hideout!”

John 10:13The worker runs away because he is only a man whom someone has hired. He is not really concerned about what happens to the sheep [MET]. Similarly, your religious teachers do not really care what happens to you.

1 Corinthians 6:10or who are thieves, or who desire and forcefully seize things that belong to others, or who are drunkards, or who slander others, or who are swindlers, will not enter the place where God rules.

Matthew Henry on John 12:2-12

Mary Anoints Christ's Feet; Hypocrisy of Judas; Indignation of the Chief Priests. 1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. 2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. 4 Then… Read the whole commentary →

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