Mark 16
The Voice
16 1-2 At the rising of the sun, after the Sabbath on the first day of the week, the two Marys and Salome brought sweet-smelling spices they had purchased to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. 3 Along the way, they wondered to themselves how they would roll the heavy stone away from the opening. 4 But when they arrived, the stone was already rolled away in spite of its weight and size.
5 Stepping through the opening, they were startled to see a young man in a white robe seated inside and to the right.
Man in White: 6 Don’t be afraid. You came seeking Jesus of Nazareth, the One who was crucified. He is gone. He has risen. See the place where His body was laid. 7 Go back, and tell Peter and His disciples that He goes before you into Galilee, just as He said. You will see Him there when you arrive.
8 The women went out quickly; and when they were outside the tomb, they ran away trembling and astonished. Along their way, they didn’t stop to say anything to anyone because they were too afraid.
Mark finishes his Gospel in the same way he begins it—quickly, without commentary or explanation. He also finishes it in a humble way: it is the lowly women who take center stage in this greatest miracle of Jesus. The heavenly messenger sends the women with a commission to tell the disciples what has happened, making them the first preachers of the resurrection.
[9 After He rose from the dead early on Sunday,[a] Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, a woman out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She brought this news back to all those who had followed Him and were still mourning and weeping, 11 but they refused to believe she had seen Jesus alive.
12 After that, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked through the countryside, 13 and again the others did not believe it.
14 The eleven did not believe until Jesus appeared to them all as they sat at dinner. He rebuked them for their hard hearts—for their lack of faith—because they had failed to believe those witnesses who had seen Him after He had risen.
Jesus: 15 Go out into the world and share the good news with all of creation. 16 Anyone who believes this good news and is ceremonially washed[b] will be rescued, but anyone who does not believe it will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: they will be able to cast out demons in My name, speak with new tongues, 18 take up serpents, drink poison without being harmed, and lay their hands on the sick to heal them.
19 After the Lord Jesus had charged the disciples in this way, He was taken up into heaven and seated at the right hand of God. 20 The disciples went out proclaiming the good news; and the risen Lord continued working through them, confirming every word they spoke with the signs He performed through them.][c]
[And the women did everything they had been told to do, speaking to Peter and the other disciples. Later Jesus Himself commissioned the disciples to take this sacred and eternal message of salvation far to the East and the West.][d]
The remaining eleven disciples take this command as their life’s mission. According to tradition, all but one of them (John) will be killed for their refusals to stop proclaiming the truth that Jesus is the Anointed One who has been crucified and who has arisen from the dead. They dedicate their lives—and their deaths—to the proclamation of this reality. If they are not absolutely certain of the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, then why dedicate their lives to announcing it to the world?
Footnotes
- 16:9 Literally, “the first day of the week.” The new creation was underway.
- 16:16 Literally, immersed, to show repentance
- 16:9–20 are not contained in the earliest manuscripts. However, many manuscripts do contain these verses. It is likely the original Gospel ended in 16:8 or that the original ending was lost.
- 16:20 One manuscript concludes with these bracketed words.
Mark 16
New King James Version
He Is Risen(A)
16 Now (B)when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome (C)bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 (D)Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. 5 (E)And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
6 (F)But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going [a]before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, (G)as He said to you.”
8 So they went out [b]quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. (H)And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord(I)
9 [c]Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, (J)out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 (K)She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 (L)And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
Jesus Appears to Two Disciples(M)
12 After that, He appeared in another form (N)to two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.
The Great Commission(O)
14 (P)Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 (Q)And He said to them, “Go into all the world (R)and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 (S)He who believes and is baptized will be saved; (T)but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these (U)signs will follow those who [d]believe: (V)In My name they will cast out demons; (W)they will speak with new tongues; 18 (X)they[e] will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; (Y)they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Christ Ascends to God’s Right Hand(Z)
19 So then, (AA)after the Lord had spoken to them, He was (AB)received up into heaven, and (AC)sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them (AD)and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Footnotes
- Mark 16:7 ahead of
- Mark 16:8 NU, M omit quickly
- Mark 16:9 Vv. 9–20 are bracketed in NU as not in the original text. They are lacking in Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, although nearly all other mss. of Mark contain them.
- Mark 16:17 have believed
- Mark 16:18 NU and in their hands they will
Mark 16
Worldwide English (New Testament)
16 The Sabbath day was past. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome came to the grave. They brought spices that smelled very nice to put on the body of Jesus.
2 They came to the grave on the first day of the week. It was very early in the morning. The sun was beginning to shine.
3 One woman said to the other, `Who will roll away the big stone from the grave for us?'
4 The stone was very big. When they looked up they saw that the stone was rolled away.
5 So they went in the grave. They saw a young man dressed in a white gown. He sat at the right side. They were very much surprised.
6 He said, `Do not be surprised. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was nailed to a cross. He is risen. He is not here. Look, here is where they laid him.
7 Go and tell his disciples and Peter. Tell them he is going to Galilee before you. You will see him there as he said to you.'
8 Then they left the grave quickly. They were trembling and afraid. They did not talk to anyone about it because they were afraid.
9 Jesus rose early on the first day of the week. He showed himself first to Mary Magdalene. Jesus had driven seven bad spirits out of her.
10 She went and told the disciples that she had seen him. They were still crying because Jesus was dead.
11 Mary told them that he was living. She had seen him. But they would not believe it.
12 After this, Jesus came to two disciples. He looked like a different person. They were walking out in the country.
13 They went back and told the rest of the disciples, but they would not believe them either.
14 Then after that Jesus showed himself to the eleven disciples while they were eating. He said it was very bad for them not to believe and for their minds to be slow. He said they should have believed those who saw him after he rose from death.
15 Then Jesus said to them, `Go into every part of the world. Tell the good news to everyone.
16 The one who believes the good news and is baptised will be saved. But he who does not believe will be judged and punished.
17 These signs will be with those who believe. They will drive bad spirits out of people by using my name. They will speak new languages.
18 They will take up snakes. If they drink poison, it will not make them sick. They will put their hands on sick people and sick people will get well again.'
19 So after the Lord Jesus had talked to them, he went up into heaven and sat down beside God.
20 Then the disciples went and told the good news everywhere. The Lord worked with them. He made their words come true by the signs that happened after they talked.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
© 1969, 1971, 1996, 1998 by SOON Educational Publications