And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?”
Parallel translations
- WEB They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?”
- KJV And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
- BSB They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?”
- NASB They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb for us?”
- NLT On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”
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
On the way the women worry about who will roll away the heavy tomb stone. They go forward in love despite an obstacle they cannot overcome.
Overview
The women's concern is practical, for the sealing stone was far too heavy for them to move. Their question reveals they expected only a sealed tomb and a dead body. God had already addressed the very problem that troubled them, a quiet reminder that he goes before his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Mark 15:46–47He bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.
- Matt 27:60–66and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock, and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 16:3 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.