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When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus.
Mark 16:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him.
  • KJV And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
  • NKJV Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
  • NASB When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might come and anoint Him.
  • NLT Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

When the Sabbath ends, the women buy spices to anoint Jesus' body. They come expecting to honor a corpse, not to meet a risen Lord.

Overview

Once the Sabbath rest was over, the women prepared spices to complete the burial customs interrupted by Friday's haste. Their plan to anoint a dead body shows they did not anticipate a resurrection. Their devotion in mourning becomes the occasion for them to be the first to learn that Jesus is alive.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • Luke 23:56Then they returned to prepare spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment.
  • Matt 28:1–10After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
  • John 20:1–10Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
  • Mark 15:40And there were also women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.
  • 2 Chr 16:14And he was buried in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier that was full of spices and various blended perfumes; then they made a great fire in his honor.
  • Mark 14:8She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial.
  • John 19:25Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and her sister, as well as Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.
  • Mark 15:47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where His body was placed.
  • Mark 16:8So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone.
  • Mark 14:3While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.
  • John 19:31It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a High Sabbath. In order that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed.
  • John 19:39–40Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
  • Mark 15:42Now it was already evening. Since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath),
  • Luke 23:54It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was beginning.
  • Mark 16:4–5But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, even though it was extremely large.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (8)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 16:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

How Mark 16:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.