Note in the Reference Bible:
SHORT CONCLUSION
Some late manuscripts and versions contain a short conclusion after Mark 16:8, as follows:
But all the things that had been commanded they related briefly to those around Peter. Further, after these things, Jesus himself sent out through them from the east to the west the holy and incorruptible proclamation of everlasting salvation.
LONG CONCLUSION
Certain ancient manuscripts (ACD) and versions (VgSyc,p) add the following long conclusion, but which אBSysArm omit:
9 After he rose early on the first day of the week he appeared first to Mary Magʹda·lene, from whom he had expelled seven demons. 10 She went and reported to those who had been with him, as they were mourning and weeping. 11 But they, when they heard he had come to life and had been viewed by her, did not believe. 12 Moreover, after these things he appeared in another form to two of them walking along, as they were going into the country; 13 and they came back and reported to the rest. Neither did they believe these. 14 But later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table, and he reproached their lack of faith and hardheartedness, because they did not believe those who had beheld him now raised up from the dead. 15 And he said to them: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 He that believes and is baptized will be saved, but he that does not believe will be condemned. 17 Furthermore, these signs will accompany those believing: By the use of my name they will expel demons, they will speak with tongues, 18 and with their hands they will pick up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly it will not hurt them at all. They will lay their hands upon sick persons, and these will become well.”
19 So, then, the Lord Jesus, after having spoken to them, was taken up to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 They, accordingly, went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and backed up the message through the accompanying signs.
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*** it-2 p. 338 Mark, Good News According to ***
Long and Short Conclusions. Some have thought that Mark 16:8, which ends with the words “and they told nobody anything, for they were in fear,” is too abrupt to have been the original ending of this Gospel. However, that need not be concluded in view of Mark’s general style. Also, the fourth-century scholars Jerome and Eusebius agree that the authentic record closes with the words “for they were in fear.”—Jerome, letter 120, question 3, as published in Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Vienna and Leipzig, 1912, Vol. LV, p. 481; Eusebius, “Ad Marinum,” I, as published in Patrologia Graeca, Paris, 1857, Vol. XXII, col. 937.
There are a number of manuscripts and versions that add a long or a short conclusion after these words. The long conclusion (consisting of 12 verses) is found in the Alexandrine Manuscript, the Codex Ephraemi Syri rescriptus, and the Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis. It also appears in the Latin Vulgate, the Curetonian Syriac, and the Syriac Peshitta. But it is omitted in the Sinaitic Manuscript, the Vatican Manuscript No. 1209, the Sinaitic Syriac codex, and the Armenian Version. Certain late manuscripts and versions contain the short conclusion. The Codex Regius of the eighth century C.E. has both conclusions, giving the shorter conclusion first. It prefixes a note to each conclusion, saying that these passages are current in some quarters, though it evidently recognized neither of them as authoritative.
In commenting on the long and short conclusions of the Gospel of Mark, Bible translator Edgar J. Goodspeed noted: “The Short Conclusion connects much better with Mark 16:8 than does the Long, but neither can be considered an original part of the Gospel of Mark.”—The Goodspeed Parallel New Testament, 1944, p. 127.
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*** w14 9/1 p. 15 The Syriac Peshitta—A Window on the World of Early Bible Translations ***
Can these manuscripts be useful to Bible students today? Undoubtedly! Take as an example the so-called long conclusion of the Gospel of Mark, which in some Bibles follows Mark 16:8. It appears in the Greek Codex Alexandrinus of the fifth century, the Latin Vulgate, and elsewhere. However, the two authoritative fourth-century Greek manuscripts—Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus—both end with Mark 16:8. The Sinaitic Syriac does not have this long conclusion either, adding further evidence that the long conclusion is a later addition and was not originally part of Mark’s Gospel.
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*** g88 5/8 p. 27 Ancient Bible Manuscript Meets Space-Age Technology ***
Ancient Bible Manuscript Meets Space-Age Technology
COMPUTER enhancement, the technology used in producing clear pictures of the surface of the Moon or Mars, has been used to bring back to life the obscure writings on an ancient Bible manuscript.
The manuscript in question was discovered in 1892 at the St. Catherine monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai. It is a late second- or early third-century copy of a translation of the four Gospels into Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, which was a language commonly spoken in Jesus’ day. Some scholars believe the translation was made possibly as early as the end of the first century.
(What did they find?")
One point of interest is the ending of Mark. Does it end with Mark 16:8, or are there additional verses as in a number of other ancient manuscripts? If Mark 16:8 appeared at the end of a page, then it would be conceivable that there were more verses on a missing page. The computer-enhanced page shows Mark 16:8 at the middle of the left-hand column. Then there is a row of little circles followed by a little space and below that the beginning of Luke. This shows clearly where the book ended. No page or verses were missing.
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