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Mark 16:1-8, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Mark 16:1-8
The Empty Tomb Promise Sends the Women toward Galilee
They come with spices and leave with a charge they are too afraid to speak
When the sabbath is past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, have bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. Very early in the morning the first day of the week, they come unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. They say among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? When they look, they see that the stone is rolled away: for it is very great. Entering into the sepulchre, they see a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they are affrighted.
He says, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. They go out quickly, and flee from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. The first news is empty tomb, the crucified one risen, a meeting already named, and Peter specifically included. The women's fear does not authorize misogyny or make women unreliable witnesses. Mark lets trembling stand at the mouth of the gospel. They were the ones who came. They were the ones who heard.
How this should shape us
If resurrection news still scares you, you are not disqualified. Go toward the place he already named, include the failed friend, and do not use these women's fear as an excuse to sideline women as witnesses.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters differ?
Best judgment: The earliest recoverable form of Mark almost certainly ends at 16:8, though interpreters debate whether its abrupt grammar and silence are intentional or evidence of a lost ending. The women have already served as faithful witnesses; their fear should not become misogynistic blame.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Mark 16:1-8, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 16:1-8
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew–Acts data, rows for 16:1-8
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.
NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 16:1-8 and attached translator/textual notes
Supports: Narrative boundaries, plot, characterization, kingdom, Christology, discipleship, conflict, Passion, and ending.
Broadhead, Mark, printed pp. 126–140, Mark 15.16–16.8; subsection covering 16:1-8
Supports: Authorship/date limits, whole-book movement, secrecy, disciple failure, Passion, Sonship, and reader-first context.
Enter the Bible Mark course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and related passage index; applied to 16:1-8
Supports: A complete confessional evangelical interpretation used as one traditioned voice, not consensus.
McKinley, “Mark,” Introduction and commentary heading covering Mark 16:1-8
Supports: Patristic, versional, shorter-ending, Sinaiticus/Vaticanus, stylistic, originality, reception, and KJV-display evidence.
Hull, The Story of the New Testament Text, printed pp. 33–34, 56, 91, 94, and especially 105–107; Broadhead, printed pp. 126–140; applied to 16:1-8
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Mark 16:1-8, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 16:1-8
Open the Mark Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew–Acts data, rows for 16:1-8
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Mark with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 16:1-8 and attached translator/textual notes
Open the official NET Mark PDF ↗modern scholarly narrative commentary
Mark, Second Edition
Edwin K. Broadhead
Sheffield Phoenix Press; distributed online by the Society of Biblical Literature, 2009
Supports: Narrative boundaries, plot, characterization, kingdom, Christology, discipleship, conflict, Passion, and ending.
Exact location: Broadhead, Mark, printed pp. 126–140, Mark 15.16–16.8; subsection covering 16:1-8
Open Broadhead's complete Mark commentary ↗modern scholarly book introduction
Mark course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Paul S. Berge; revised by Kristofer Phan Coffman
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2023 revision; current online course inspected 2026
Supports: Authorship/date limits, whole-book movement, secrecy, disciple failure, Passion, Sonship, and reader-first context.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Mark course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and related passage index; applied to 16:1-8
Open the Enter the Bible Mark course ↗modern open confessional commentary
Mark
Mike McKinley
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023 online edition
Supports: A complete confessional evangelical interpretation used as one traditioned voice, not consensus.
Exact location: McKinley, “Mark,” Introduction and commentary heading covering Mark 16:1-8
Open McKinley's Mark commentary ↗modern scholarly textual criticism monograph
The Story of the New Testament Text: Movers, Materials, Motives, Methods, and Models
Robert F. Hull Jr.
Society of Biblical Literature, Resources for Biblical Study 58, 2010
Supports: Patristic, versional, shorter-ending, Sinaiticus/Vaticanus, stylistic, originality, reception, and KJV-display evidence.
Exact location: Hull, The Story of the New Testament Text, printed pp. 33–34, 56, 91, 94, and especially 105–107; Broadhead, printed pp. 126–140; applied to 16:1-8
Open Hull's textual-history monograph ↗