Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Mark 16:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse develops the unit at Mark 16:4 in “The Empty Tomb Promise Sends the Women toward Galilee”: “And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great”.
Read It With
- Mark 16:1-8
Read Mark 16:4 with 16:1-8. This verse develops the unit at Mark 16:4 in “The Empty Tomb Promise Sends the Women toward Galilee”: “And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great”. The complete unit's controlling movement is: After Sabbath, three women bring spices, find the stone moved, hear from a young man that the crucified Jesus is risen and going ahead to Galilee, and flee in trembling and astonishment, saying nothing because they fear.
Why This Verse Appears Here
This verse develops the unit at Mark 16:4 in “The Empty Tomb Promise Sends the Women toward Galilee”: “And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great”. This specific contribution advances Mark 16:1-8 toward its narrated or taught result.
What Remains True
The empty tomb announcement identifies the crucified Jesus as risen and redirects disciples toward Galilee, while the earliest recoverable ending leaves readers with trembling fear and unfinished response. At Mark 16:4, develops the unit at Mark 16:4 in “The Empty Tomb Promise Sends the Women toward Galilee”: “And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great”.
How It Can Shape Life
- At Mark 16:4, receive resurrection hope without blaming the women, importing every later detail into Mark, or hiding the ending's real textual and literary questions. This verse contributes to that response because it develops the unit at Mark 16:4 in “The Empty Tomb Promise Sends the Women toward Galilee”: “And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great”.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Mark 16:1-8 — The Empty Tomb Promise Sends the Women toward GalileeSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 ↗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 ↗