What Does Mark 14:6 Mean in the King James?
And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
“Let her alone” carries the force of release: Jesus names her disputed act as good work and tells the crowd to stop pressing her.
THE MEANING
When your act of care is put under suspicion, Jesus names what is there: good work offered to him. He questions the pressure placed on the person giving it and receives the act without waiting for the crowd’s approval.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A generous act does not become waste simply because onlookers object to it.
THE ROOT
ἀφίετε
aphiete
GROWS FROM
ἀφίημι (aphiēmi), from ἀπό (apo, away) + ἵημι (hiēmi, send or let go)
To send away, leave, let go, or release.
“Let her alone” in this verse is aphiete. The command carries more than physical distance: this word can mean to leave, release, or forgive. Jesus directs that release toward the woman by stopping the pressure around her.
ALSO GROWS
aphesis: Release, remission, forgiveness.
ἄφεσις
This noun from the same word family names release in Luke 4:18; here the verb’s release sense has a concrete target: the woman being troubled.
aphienai: To leave, let go, release, or forgive.
ἀφιέναι
This infinitive form shares the same verb family and shows how the idea of letting go extends to releasing a person or a debt.
ἠργάσατο
ērgasato
GROWS FROM
ἔργον (ergon), the seed of ἐργάζομαι (ergazomai)
Work, deed, action; ergazomai means to work or accomplish.
She “wrought” a “work”: the verb and its object share one seed. Jesus names her disputed act as deliberate work offered to him, not an empty gesture.
ALSO GROWS
ergon: Work, deed, action.
ἔργον
This is the noun Jesus uses for what she has done; the action itself is named as good.
ergatēs: Worker, laborer.
ἐργάτης
The same word family names the person who does the work, keeping the focus on active care rather than appearance.
ergasia: Labor, work, business.
ἐργασία
This branch also carries the sense of work put into action, echoing Jesus’ description of her deed.
THE PATTERN
An act’s goodness is disclosed by its fruit, even when the people watching fail to see it.
She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.THE THREAD
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,The Greek noun translated “deliverance” is ἄφεσις (aphesis), from the same word family as ἀφίετε (aphiete), “let her alone.” In Luke, release opens captives’ bonds; here, Jesus directs release toward a woman under pressure.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.
A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us