Mark 14:4-5

14:4 But some who were present indignantly said to one another, “Why this waste of expensive ¹  ointment? 14:5 It ²  could have been sold for more than three hundred silver coins ³  and the money ⁴  given to the poor!” So ⁵  they spoke angrily to her.

¹ tn The word “expensive” is not in the Greek text but has been included to suggest a connection to the lengthy phrase “costly aromatic oil from pure nard” occurring earlier in v. 3. The author of Mark shortened this long phrase to just one word in Greek when repeated here, and the phrase “expensive ointment” used in the translation is intended as an abbreviated paraphrase.

² tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

³ tn Grk “three hundred denarii.” One denarius was the standard day’s wage, so the value exceeded what a laborer could earn in a year (taking in to account Sabbaths and feast days when no work was done).

⁴ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied (as the proceeds from the sale of the perfumed oil).

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.