But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why are you bothering her and causing trouble? She has done a good and beautiful thing to Me.

She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial.

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, wherever the good news [regarding salvation] is proclaimed throughout the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

and when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked intently at him and said, “You were with Jesus the Nazarene, too.”

She went and reported it to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping.

When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe it.

Now after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she secluded herself completely, saying,

But she was greatly perplexed at what he said, and kept carefully considering what kind of greeting this was.

and she entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

And she exclaimed loudly, “Blessed [worthy to be praised] are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

And blessed [spiritually fortunate and favored by God] is she who believed and confidently trusted that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her [by the angel sent] from the Lord.”

Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

and she gave birth to her Son, her firstborn; and she wrapped Him in [swaddling] cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no [private] room for them in the inn.

There was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, and had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage,

and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the [area of the] temple, but was serving and worshiping night and day with fastings and prayers.

She, too, came up at that very moment and began praising and giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all who were looking for the redemption and deliverance of Jerusalem.

the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

Standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and immediately she got up and began serving them [as her guests].

Now as He approached the city gate, a dead man was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her [in the funeral procession].

Now there was a woman in the city who was [known as] a sinner; and when she found out that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume;

and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began wetting His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and [respectfully] kissed His feet [as an act signifying both affection and submission] and anointed them with the perfume.

Now when [Simon] the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this Man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him, that she is a [notorious] sinner [an outcast, devoted to sin].”

Then turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house [but you failed to extend to Me the usual courtesies shown to a guest]; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair [demonstrating her love].

You gave Me no [welcoming] kiss, but from the moment I came in, she has not ceased to kiss My feet.

You did not [even] anoint My head with [ordinary] oil, but she has anointed My feet with [costly and rare] perfume.

Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as Jesus went, the people were crowding against Him [almost crushing Him].

When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came up trembling and fell down before Him. She declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.

But Jesus, hearing this, answered him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe and trust [in Me and have faith in My ability to do this], and she will be made well.”

Now they were all weeping loudly and mourning for her; but He said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead, but is sleeping.”

Then they began laughing scornfully at Him and ridiculing Him, knowing [without any doubt] that she was dead.

And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He ordered that she be given something to eat.

She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was continually listening to His teaching.

But Martha was very busy and distracted with all of her serving responsibilities; and she approached Him and said, “Lord, is it of no concern to You that my sister has left me to do the serving alone? Tell her to help me and do her part.”

The Queen of the South (the kingdom of Sheba) will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and look, something greater than Solomon is here.

so that charges may be brought against this generation [holding them responsible] for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,

And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had an illness caused by a spirit (demon). She was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.

Then He laid His hands on her; and immediately she stood erect again and she began glorifying and praising God.

“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins [each one equal to a day’s wages] and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

And when she has found it, she calls together her [women] friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I found the lost coin!’

yet because this widow continues to bother me, I will give her justice and legal protection; otherwise by continually coming she [will be an intolerable annoyance and she] will wear me out.’”

for they all put in gifts from their abundance; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant [ratified] in My blood.

She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with [no bucket and rope] and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?

Then the woman left her water jar, and went into the city and began telling the people,

Now many Samaritans from that city believed in Him and trusted Him [as Savior] because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”

She answered, “No one, Lord!” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him, while Mary remained sitting in the house.

She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed and continue to believe that You are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of God, He who was [destined and promised] to come into the world [and it is for You that the world has waited].”

After she had said this, she left and called her sister Mary, privately whispering [to her], “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.”

And when she heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him.

So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her, saw how quickly Mary got up and left, they followed her, assuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

When Mary came [to the place] where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Then Mary took a pound of very expensive perfume of pure nard, and she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

So Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep [the rest of] it for the day of My burial.

A woman, when she is in labor, has pain because her time [to give birth] has come; but when she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of her joy that a child has come into the world.

So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple (John), whom Jesus loved (esteemed), and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him!”

But Mary [who had returned] was standing outside the tomb sobbing; and so, as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb;

and she saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

And they said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She told them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

After saying this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? For whom are you looking?” Supposing that He was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you are the one who has carried Him away from here, tell me where you have put Him, and I will take Him away.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).

Mary Magdalene came, reporting to the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had said these things to her.

Peter asked her, “Tell me whether you sold your land for so much?” And she said, “Yes, for so much.”

And at once she fell down at his feet and died; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, (which translated into Greek means Dorcas). She was rich in acts of kindness and charity which she continually did.

During that time it happened that she became sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upstairs room.

So Peter got up [at once] and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upstairs room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing [him] all the tunics and robes that Dorcas used to make while she was with them.

But Peter sent them all out [of the room] and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise!” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she failed to open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gateway.

They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel!”

Now Paul traveled to Derbe and also to Lystra. A disciple named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer [in Christ], however, his father was a Greek.

A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple fabrics who was [already] a worshiper of God, listened to us; and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention and to respond to the things said by Paul.

And when she was baptized, along with her household, she pleaded with us, saying, “If you have judged me and decided that I am faithful to the Lord [a true believer], come to my house and stay.” And she persuaded us.

It happened that as we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination [that is, a demonic spirit claiming to foretell the future and discover hidden knowledge], and she brought her owners a good profit by fortune-telling.

She followed after Paul and us and kept screaming and shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God! They are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!”

She continued doing this for several days. Then Paul, being greatly annoyed and worn out, turned and said to the spirit [inside her], “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ [as His representative] to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.

Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will be discredited, but also that the [magnificent] temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and that she whom all Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned and lose her glorious magnificence.”

And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby approving and consenting [to his death], and guarding the coats of those who were killing him.’

“Their feet are swift to shed blood,

For the married woman [as an example] is bound and remains bound by law to her husband while he lives; but if her husband dies, she is released and exempt from the law concerning her husband.

Accordingly, she will be designated as an adulteress if she unites herself to another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law [regarding marriage], so that she is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

that you may receive her in the Lord [with love and hospitality], as God’s people ought to receive one another. And that you may help her in whatever matter she may require assistance from you, for she has been a helper of many, including myself.

(but even if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to her husband) and that the husband should not leave his wife.

To the rest I declare—I, not the Lord [since Jesus did not discuss this]—that if any [believing] brother has a wife who does not believe [in Christ], and she consents to live with him, he must not leave her.

And if any [believing] woman has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not leave him.

I think then that because of the impending distress [that is, the pressure of the current trouble], it is good for a man to remain as he is.

But if you do marry, you have not sinned [in doing so]; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned [in doing so]. Yet those [who marry] will have troubles (special challenges) in this life, and I am trying to spare you that.

and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or the virgin is concerned about the matters of the Lord, how to be holy and set apart both in body and in spirit; but a married woman is concerned about worldly things, how she may please her husband.

But if any man thinks that he is not acting properly and honorably toward his virgin daughter, [by not permitting her to marry], if she is past her youth, and it must be so, let him do as he wishes, he does not sin; let her marry.

A wife is bound [to her husband by law] as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry whomever she wishes, only [provided that he too is] in the Lord.

But in my opinion a widow is happier if she stays as she is. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God [in this matter].

And every woman who prays or prophesies when she has her head uncovered disgraces her head; for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved [in disgrace].

If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, she should cover her head.

Therefore the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head, for the sake of the angels [so as not to offend them].

Now Hagar is (represents) Mount Sinai in Arabia and she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

But the Jerusalem above [that is, the way of faith, represented by Sarah] is free; she is our mother.

For it is written [in the Scriptures],

“Rejoice, o barren woman who has not given birth;
Break forth into a [joyful] shout, you who are not in labor;
For the desolate woman has many more children
Than she who has a husband.”

so that [in turn] He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy [set apart for God] and blameless.