Mark 16:9–20 is in the great majority of manuscripts and was known by the second century (Irenaeus quotes it). It is printed in Catholic and Protestant Bibles and in the Orthodox Church's Greek text, and is read at Orthodox Sunday Matins and on Ascension; the Catholic Church holds it canonical. At the same time, the two oldest Greek manuscripts end the Gospel at 16:8, Eusebius and Jerome knew copies without it, and most scholars, including the editors of the Catholic NAB, think another hand wrote these verses.
The verse
Text
BSB16:9Early on the first day of the week, after Jesus had risen, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had driven out seven demons.10She went and told those who had been with Him, who were mourning and weeping.11And when they heard that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they did not believe it.12After this, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked along in the country.13And they went back and reported it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.14Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.15And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;18they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.20And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it.
KJV16:9¶ Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.10And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.11And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.12¶ After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.13And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.14¶ Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.19¶ So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.20And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
WEB16:9Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.10She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.11When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they disbelieved.12After these things he was revealed in another form to two of them as they walked, on their way into the country.13They went away and told it to the rest. They didn’t believe them, either.14Afterward he was revealed to the eleven themselves as they sat at the table; and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they didn’t believe those who had seen him after he had risen.15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to the whole creation.16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.17These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new languages;18they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will in no way hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”19So then the Lord, after he had spoken to them, was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.20They went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.
Ἀναστὰς δὲ πρωῒ πρώτῃ σαββάτου ... (16:9–20), after ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ ('for they were afraid', 16:8)
Manuscript evidence, as summarised in Metzger's Textual Commentary: the verses are absent from the two oldest Greek manuscripts (Sinaiticus, א, and Vaticanus, B, both 4th century), from the Old Latin codex Bobiensis (k), the Sinaitic Syriac, about one hundred Armenian manuscripts and the two oldest Georgian ones; Clement of Alexandria and Origen show no knowledge of them; and "Eusebius and Jerome attest that the passage was absent from almost all Greek copies of Mark known to them". Some manuscripts that include it mark it with asterisks or obeli or a scribal note. On the other side, the passage is "present in the vast number of witnesses", including Codices A, C, D, W and Θ, and "the earliest patristic witnesses to part or all of the long ending are Irenaeus and the Diatessaron": Irenaeus (c. 180) quotes 16:19 as "towards the conclusion of his Gospel, Mark says". Defenders of Markan authorship such as Scrivener (1894) add further early citations and point out that Vaticanus leaves a whole column blank after 16:8, as if the scribe knew something followed. Metzger's committee, "on the basis of good external evidence and strong internal considerations" (non-Markan vocabulary; an awkward join, with 16:9 introducing Mary Magdalene as if she had not just been named), concluded that "the earliest ascertainable form of the Gospel of Mark ended with 16.8", but kept 9–20 in double brackets "out of deference to the evident antiquity of the longer ending". The SBL Greek New Testament (in this site's database) also prints them in double brackets; the Byzantine and Textus Receptus editions print them without comment. A short alternative ending ("they reported briefly to Peter and those with him ...") survives in a few witnesses (four Greek uncials of the 7th–9th centuries and some versions), which except for the Old Latin k then continue with 9–20; and Codex W adds a further passage (the "Freer Logion") after 16:14. What the evidence settles: the passage is very early (2nd century) but was not in every copy, and the oldest surviving form of Mark ends at 16:8. What it does not settle: whether Mark meant to end there or his ending was lost (the NAB note: "This abrupt termination causes some to believe that the original ending of this gospel may have been lost"), and whether the verses are canonical, which is a matter of church judgment rather than of authorship.6 sources6 sources1. Metzger 19712. Scrivener 18943. Lyon4. this site's data5. this site's data6. Doctrine 1986
How translations render it
“ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ”
SBLGNT
“Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week”
Authorship and canonical status are separate questions, and the traditions answer the second firmly. The Catholic Church: the NAB says the passage "has traditionally been accepted as a canonical part of the gospel and was defined as such by the Council of Trent", while acknowledging "it was written by someone other than Mark". Trent's decree (1546) does not name the passage; it receives the books "entire with all their parts, as they have been used to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin vulgate edition", which contains these verses. In 1912 the Pontifical Biblical Commission went further and answered that the critics' arguments did not show that Mark was not their author; the NAB notes of 1986 now take the opposite view on authorship while keeping the canonical status. The Orthodox Church reads it in worship: Scrivener (1894) reports that it was the third of the eleven Resurrection Gospels (ἑωθινά) of Matins and was read at Ascension and on Mary Magdalene's day; it is still the third Eothinon Gospel at Sunday Matins and among the readings for Ascension, and the 1904 Patriarchal Greek text prints it. Protestant churches vary: the KJV and WEB print it without qualification (the WEB's translators "regard Mark 16:9-20 as reliable"), while the BSB prints it with a note that early manuscripts end at verse 8, and critical Greek editions (NA28, SBLGNT) bracket it. Among New Testament scholars the dominant view is that the passage is an early, non-Markan addition; a minority, from Burgon and Scrivener in the 19th century onward, defends Markan authorship. Some who deny Markan authorship still accept the passage as Scripture: Metzger concluded that "though external and internal evidence is conclusive against the authenticity of the last twelve verses as coming from the same pen as the rest of the Gospel, the passage ought to be accepted as part of the canonical text of Mark".9 sources9 sources7. Doctrine 19868. Council of Trent, Session IV (8 April 1546), Decree concerning the Canonical Scriptures (tr. J. Waterworth, 1848)9. Pontifical Biblical Commission, reply of 26 June 1912 on the Gospels of Mark and Luke (Denzinger, tr. R. J. Deferrari, no. 2156)10. Metzger 198711. Sanidopoulos) 201912. Scripture Readings, Thursday, May 21, 2026 (The Ascension of our Lord)13. Greek Orthodox Church (Patriarchal text, 1904), Mark 16:92. Scrivener 189414. this site's data
Checked in this site's verse database: How the database's Greek editions print the passage↩How this was derivedverses: sblgnt Mark.16.9 begins '⟦Ἀναστὰς δὲ' (double brackets); byz and tr Mark.16.9 'Ἀναστὰς δὲ πρωῒ πρώτῃ σαββάτου' without brackets. verse_notes: bsb Mark.16.8 footnote 'Early manuscripts end the Gospel of Mark after verse 8. Other manuscripts contain only a short ending ...'; web Mark.16.9 footnote '... The translators of the World English Bible regard Mark 16:9-20 as reliable based on an overwhelming majority of textual evidence ...'.
5
Checked in this site's verse database: SBLGNT apparatus, Mark 16:8↩How this was derivedSBLGNT apparatus (Faithlife/SBLGNT data/sblgntapp/text/Mark.txt), Mark 16:8: '⸁γάρ WH NA28 ] + 9–20 Treg RP; + Intermediate ending and 9–20 NIV.' (i.e. Westcott–Hort and NA28 agree with the SBLGNT, which sets 9–20 apart in double brackets; Tregelles and Robinson–Pierpont continue with 9–20 as text; the NIV prints the shorter ending and 9–20.)
6
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, New American Bible (New Testament revised 1986), Mark 16 with notes, Libreria Editrice Vaticana (1986) — Note [1-8]: 'This abrupt termination causes some to believe that the original ending of this gospel may have been lost.' Note [9-20]: 'This passage, termed the Longer Ending to the Marcan gospel ... has traditionally been accepted as a canonical part of the gospel and was defined as such by the Council of Trent. Early citations of it by the Fathers indicate that it was composed by the second century, although vocabulary and style indicate that it was written by someone other than Mark.' Also: the Shorter Ending is 'Found after Mark 16:8 before the Longer Ending in four seventh-to-ninth-century Greek manuscripts as well as in one Old Latin version, where it appears alone without the Longer Ending.'↩
7
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, New American Bible (New Testament revised 1986), note on Mark 16:9–20, Libreria Editrice Vaticana (1986)↩
Checked in this site's verse database: Edition footnotes in the database↩How this was derivedverse_notes: web Mark.16.9 footnote 'NU includes the text of verses 9-20, but mentions in a footnote that a few manuscripts omitted it. The translators of the World English Bible regard Mark 16:9-20 as reliable ...'; bsb Mark.16.8 footnote 'Early manuscripts end the Gospel of Mark after verse 8.'
Source 1
Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (1971), pp. 122–126, on Mark 16:9–20 — Quoted verbatim on bible-researcher.com (M. D. Marlowe): 'The last twelve verses of the commonly received text of Mark are absent from the two oldest Greek manuscripts ( א and B), from the Old Latin codex Bobiensis (it k ), the Sinaitic Syriac manuscript, about one hundred Armenian manuscripts, and the two oldest Georgian manuscripts ... furthermore Eusebius and Jerome attest that the passage was absent from almost all Greek copies of Mark known to them.' 'The earliest patristic witnesses to part or all of the long ending are Irenaeus and the Diatessaron.' 'Thus, on the basis of good external evidence and strong internal considerations it appears that the earliest ascertainable form of the Gospel of Mark ended with 16.8. At the same time, however out of deference to the evident antiquity of the longer ending ... the Committee decided to include verses 9-20 as part of the text, but to enclose them within double square brackets'.
F. H. A. Scrivener, A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, 4th ed., vol. 2 (1894), pp. 337–344 — The case for authenticity, quoted on the same page: 'Out of all the great manuscripts, the two oldest ( א B) stand alone in omitting vers. 9-20 altogether. Cod. B, however, betrays consciousness on the scribe's part that something is left out, inasmuch as after εφοβουντο γαρ ver. 8, a whole column is left perfectly blank'. Also lists citations by Irenaeus, Tertullian, Justin and others, and quotes Eusebius (Quaest. ad Marin.) and Jerome ('in raris fertur Evangeliis, omnibus Graeciae libris paene hoc capitulum fine non habentibus').
Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies III.10.5 (ANF vol. 1) — 'Also, towards the conclusion of his Gospel, Mark says: So then, after the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God'.
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, New American Bible (New Testament revised 1986), Mark 16 with notes, Libreria Editrice Vaticana (1986) — Note [1-8]: 'This abrupt termination causes some to believe that the original ending of this gospel may have been lost.' Note [9-20]: 'This passage, termed the Longer Ending to the Marcan gospel ... has traditionally been accepted as a canonical part of the gospel and was defined as such by the Council of Trent. Early citations of it by the Fathers indicate that it was composed by the second century, although vocabulary and style indicate that it was written by someone other than Mark.' Also: the Shorter Ending is 'Found after Mark 16:8 before the Longer Ending in four seventh-to-ninth-century Greek manuscripts as well as in one Old Latin version, where it appears alone without the Longer Ending.'
Council of Trent, Session IV (8 April 1546), Decree concerning the Canonical Scriptures (tr. J. Waterworth, 1848) — 'But if any one receive not, as sacred and canonical, the said books entire with all their parts, as they have been used to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin vulgate edition ... let him be anathema.' (The Vulgate has the verses: Scrivener lists 'the Vulgate' among the witnesses that 'agree in maintaining the paragraph'.)
Pontifical Biblical Commission, reply of 26 June 1912 on the Gospels of Mark and Luke (Denzinger, tr. R. J. Deferrari, no. 2156) — 'Whether the reasons by which some critics strive to demonstrate that the last twelve verses of the Gospel of Mark [Mark 16:9-20] were not written by Mark himself, but were added by another hand, are such as to give the right to affirm that they are not to be accepted as inspired and canonical; or at least demonstrate that the author of the said verses is not Mark?--Reply: In the negative to both parts.'
Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance, Clarendon Press (1987), pp. 269–270 — Quoted on bible-researcher.com: 'There seems to be good reason, therefore, to conclude that, though external and internal evidence is conclusive against the authenticity of the last twelve verses as coming from the same pen as the rest of the Gospel, the passage ought to be accepted as part of the canonical text of Mark.'
Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos (tr. John Sanidopoulos), “Homily on the Third Eothinon Gospel - Mark 16:9-20” (2019) — 'Every Sunday morning, before the Divine Liturgy begins, during Matins (Orthros), there is a reading from a Gospel ... Today's Eothinon, which is the third, is a section from the Gospel of Mark (Mark 16:9-20)'.
“Scripture Readings, Thursday, May 21, 2026 (The Ascension of our Lord)”, Orthodox Church in America — Readings listed: 'Isaiah 2:2-3 ... Mark 16:9-20 Acts 1:1-12 Luke 24:36-53'.