Mark 16:8

8 And they went out [and] fled from the tomb, because trembling and amazement had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Mark 16:8 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 16:8

And they went out quickly
Out of the sepulchre, into which they had been, to see where Christ lay, as invited by the angel, ( Mark 16:6 ) . The word "quickly", is not read in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions: "which when they heard"; that is, when they heard the angel's and instructions, immediately they went out:

and fled from the sepulchre;
as surprised and affrighted:

for they trembled and were amazed;
at what they saw and heard, and yet this dread and fear were mixed with joy at the news of Christ's resurrection, as Matthew relates, ( Matthew 28:8 ) .

Neither said they any thing to any man;
they met with by the way, till they came to the disciples; to whom they told all, otherwise they would not have acted according to the angel's orders

for they were afraid;
not only affrighted with what they had seen and heard, but the were afraid to tell any but the disciples of these things, for fear of the Jews; lest they should be thought to have stolen the body of Christ, and so be taken up on that account, and punished.

Mark 16:8 In-Context

6 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified. He has been raised, he is not here! See the place where they laid him!

7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you."

8 And they went out [and] fled from the tomb, because trembling and amazement had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

9 Now early on the first [day] of the week, [after he] rose, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had expelled seven demons.

10 She went out [and] announced [it] to those who were with him [while they] were mourning and weeping.

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("went out") has been translated as a finite verb
• [b]. The Gospel of Mark ends at this point in some manuscripts, including two of the most important ones, while other manuscripts supply a shorter ending (sometimes included as part of v. 8), others supply the traditional longer ending (vv. 9-20), and still other manuscripts supply both the shorter ending and vv. 9-20; due to significant questions about the authenticity of these alternative endings, many scholars regard 16:8 as the last verse of the Gospel of Mark