independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditional
Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)
The women at the tomb — the stone rolled away 16:1–4
v. 1 — the Sabbath over: spices bought for an anointing
1
Καὶ διαγενομένου τοῦ σαββάτουparticipial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning; the rest ends, the errand begins
Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ καὶ Μαρία ἡ τοῦ Ἰακώβου καὶ Σαλώμη ἠγόρασαν ἀρώματαindependent — the three women of 15:40, 47 — the witnesses of cross and burial now of the tomb
ἵνα ἐλθοῦσαι ἀλείψωσιν αὐτόν.purpose — the purpose — ἀλείφω, the ordinary burial anointing left undone (15:46); they expect a corpse
vv. 2–4 — very early on the first day: the stone already rolled back
2
καὶ λίαν πρωῒ τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων ἔρχονται ἐπὶ τὸ μνημεῖονindependent — historic present — the piled time-markers set the dawn of day one
ἀνατείλαντος τοῦ ἡλίου.participial — genitive absolute, following its verb — arrival at sunrise
3
καὶ ἔλεγον πρὸς ἑαυτάς·independent — iterative imperfect — the worry rehearsed en route; speech-frame
Τίς ἀποκυλίσει ἡμῖν τὸν λίθον ἐκ τῆς θύρας τοῦ μνημείου;content — the inner question — the obstacle named just before it is found removed
4
καὶ ἀναβλέψασαιparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on θεωροῦσιν
θεωροῦσινindependent — historic present — attentive beholding, not a glance
ὅτι ἀποκεκύλισται ὁ λίθος·content — perfect ἀποκεκύλισται — rolled back and standing open; a divine passive
ἦν γὰρ μέγας σφόδρα.cause — narrator's γάρ aside — the size that made their question urgent
The young man's announcement and the commission 16:5–7
v. 5 — the white-robed young man
5
καὶ εἰσελθοῦσαι εἰς τὸ μνημεῖονparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on εἶδον; they go in expecting the body
εἶδον νεανίσκον καθήμενον ἐν τοῖς δεξιοῖςindependent — Mark's νεανίσκος for the angelic messenger — seated, the posture of authority
περιβεβλημένον στολὴν λευκήν,participial — perfect participle — arrayed in the radiant white of heaven (cf. 9:3)
καὶ ἐξεθαμβήθησαν.independent — ἐκθαμβέω — the intensive dread proper to a heavenly encounter
vv. 6–7 — μὴ ἐκθαμβεῖσθε: ἠγέρθη, and the commission to Galilee
6
ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐταῖς·independent — historic present — the speech-frame for the chapter's central announcement
Μὴ ἐκθαμβεῖσθε·content — μή + present imperative — cease the very dread of v. 5
Ἰησοῦν ζητεῖτε τὸν Ναζαρηνὸν τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον·content — fronted Ἰησοῦν; perfect ἐσταυρωμένον — the crucified as his abiding title: the risen one is the crucified one
ἠγέρθη,content — the proclamation — one word, a divine passive: God raised him
οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε·content — the empty tomb stated — the negative that proves the announcement
ἴδε ὁ τόποςcontent — ἴδε with nominative — the evidence pointed at
ὅπου ἔθηκαν αὐτόν.relative — recalling the burial of 15:46–47 — the same women watched where
7
ἀλλὰ ὑπάγετε εἴπατε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ Πέτρῳ ὅτιcontent — asyndetic double imperative — the women made first messengers; Peter named apart, grace to the denier (14:66–72)
Προάγει ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν·content — the message — προάγει, the shepherd leading again (14:28)
ἐκεῖ αὐτὸν ὄψεσθε,content — fronted ἐκεῖ — Galilee, not the tomb, is where the seeing happens
καθὼς εἶπεν ὑμῖν.comparative — Jesus' own prediction invoked — 14:28, word for word
Flight, silence, fear — the abrupt ending 16:8
v. 8 — ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ: where the earliest text of Mark stops
8
καὶ ἐξελθοῦσαιparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on ἔφυγον
ἔφυγον ἀπὸ τοῦ μνημείου,independent — the commission answered with flight, not yet with witness
εἶχεν γὰρ αὐτὰς τρόμος καὶ ἔκστασις·cause — γάρ aside — the emotions as subject, gripping them like an outside power
καὶ οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν εἶπαν,independent — emphatic double negative — 'to no one nothing'; silence where speech was commanded
ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ.cause — the last words of the earliest Mark (ℵ B stop here) — a book ending on postpositive γάρ; design or loss, the great crux
The Longer Ending — appearances met with unbelief 16:9–14
vv. 9–11 — [Longer Ending] the appearance to Mary Magdalene, disbelieved
9
Ἀναστὰς δὲ πρωῒ πρώτῃ σαββάτουparticipial — the Longer Ending begins (vv. 9–20: absent ℵ B; see reading note) — preposed participle; un-Markan πρώτῃ σαββάτου vs. τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων (v. 2)
ἐφάνη πρῶτον Μαρίᾳ τῇ Μαγδαληνῇ,independent — ἐφάνη — the ending's own appearance verb; Mary re-introduced as if new, the seam with vv. 1–8 showing
παρ’ ἧς ἐκβεβλήκει ἑπτὰ δαιμόνια.relative — pluperfect — her deliverance recalled (cf. Luke 8:2)
10
ἐκείνη πορευθεῖσα ἀπήγγειλεν τοῖς μετ’ αὐτοῦ γενομένοιςindependent — ἐκείνη as bare pronoun and the periphrasis for 'the disciples' — both idioms peculiar to the ending
πενθοῦσι καὶ κλαίουσιν·participial — concurrent participles — the disciples' grief when the news arrives
11
κἀκεῖνοι ἀκούσαντεςparticipial — preposed concessive participle — leans on ἠπίστησαν; crasis κἀκεῖνοι, the ending's signature
ὅτι ζῇ καὶ ἐθεάθη ὑπ’ αὐτῆςcontent — the report in miniature — ζῇ, the resurrection stated simply; ἐθεάθη, another non-Markan verb
ἠπίστησαν.independent — the first refusal — unbelief becomes the ending's refrain (vv. 11, 13, 14)
vv. 12–14 — [Longer Ending] the two on the road; the Eleven rebuked
12
Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα δυσὶν ἐξ αὐτῶν περιπατοῦσιν ἐφανερώθη ἐν ἑτέρᾳ μορφῇindependent — the Emmaus road compressed (Luke 24:13–35) — ἐν ἑτέρᾳ μορφῇ explains the non-recognition
πορευομένοις εἰς ἀγρόν·participial — concurrent participle — the rural destination
13
κἀκεῖνοι ἀπελθόντες ἀπήγγειλαν τοῖς λοιποῖς·independent — the pattern of v. 10 repeats — a true report carried back
οὐδὲ ἐκείνοις ἐπίστευσαν.independent — ascensive οὐδέ — the second refusal, building toward the rebuke
14
Ὕστερον δὲ ἀνακειμένοις αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἕνδεκα ἐφανερώθη,independent — the third appearance — the apostolic remnant caught at a meal
καὶ ὠνείδισεν τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν καὶ σκληροκαρδίανindependent — ὠνείδισεν — the risen Lord's censure; σκληροκαρδία, the obduracy Mark's Gospel itself indicts (6:52; 8:17)
ὅτι τοῖς θεασαμένοις αὐτὸν ἐγηγερμένον οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν.cause — causal ὅτι — perfect ἐγηγερμένον, his abiding risen state; the eyewitnesses spurned
The Longer Ending — commission, signs, ascension, mission 16:15–20
vv. 15–18 — [Longer Ending] κηρύξατε: the commission and the five signs
15
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς·independent — speech-frame — the rebuked become the commissioned
Πορευθέντες εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἅπαντα κηρύξατε τὸ εὐαγγέλιον πάσῃ τῇ κτίσει.content — the universal commission — imperatival πορευθέντες + κηρύξατε; εὐαγγέλιον, Mark's keyword (1:1), now for πάσῃ τῇ κτίσει (cf. Matt 28:19)
16
ὁ πιστεύσας καὶ βαπτισθεὶς σωθήσεται,content — the positive half of the antithesis — faith sealed by baptism, unto salvation
ὁ δὲ ἀπιστήσας κατακριθήσεται.content — the negative half — condemnation tied to unbelief alone, not to lack of baptism
17
σημεῖα δὲ τοῖς πιστεύσασιν ταῦτα παρακολουθήσει·content — fronted σημεῖα — the header for the catena of five confirming signs
ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου δαιμόνια ἐκβαλοῦσιν,content — first sign — exorcism in the name, the disciples' old commission (3:15; 6:13) continued
γλώσσαις λαλήσουσιν καιναῖς,content — second sign — καιναῖς, Spirit-given speech (cf. Acts 2:4)
18
ὄφεις ἀροῦσιν·content — third sign — cf. Paul on Malta (Acts 28:3–6); the notorious charter of later serpent-handling
κἂν θανάσιμόν τι πίωσινconditional — protasis inside the promise — κἄν, forward-leaning on the οὐ μή apodosis
οὐ μὴ αὐτοὺς βλάψῃ·content — fourth sign — οὐ μή, the strongest possible denial of harm
ἐπὶ ἀρρώστους χεῖρας ἐπιθήσουσινcontent — fifth sign — the healing gesture of Jesus himself (6:5; 8:23)
καὶ καλῶς ἕξουσιν.content — the idiom καλῶς ἔχω — the result of the laying on, closing the list
vv. 19–20 — [Longer Ending] taken up, enthroned; the word confirmed everywhere
19
Ὁ μὲν οὖν κύριος Ἰησοῦς μετὰ τὸ λαλῆσαι αὐτοῖς ἀνελήμφθη εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸνindependent — μὲν οὖν closes the narrative; 'the Lord Jesus,' a title nowhere else in Mark — ἀνελήμφθη, the ascension verb (Acts 1:2, 11)
καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ.independent — the session — Ps 110:1, the enthronement Jesus claimed at his trial (14:62)
20
ἐκεῖνοι δὲ ἐξελθόντες ἐκήρυξαν πανταχοῦ,independent — the μέν answered by δέ — the commission of v. 15 carried out
τοῦ κυρίου συνεργοῦντοςparticipial — genitive absolute — the enthroned Lord co-laboring from heaven
καὶ τὸν λόγον βεβαιοῦντος διὰ τῶν ἐπακολουθούντων σημείων.participial — coordinate genitive absolute — the signs of vv. 17–18 delivered; the Longer Ending closes on mission accomplished
Analysis. Mark 16 is two texts, and the layout shows the seam. Verses 1–8 — the empty tomb — read like the rest of Mark: coordinate purple main clauses flush left, καί after καί (bought, come, were saying, see, saw, were amazed, fled, said nothing), the preposed circumstantial participles and the genitive absolute leaning forward anchor-less on the verb below (διαγενομένου τοῦ σαββάτου, ἀναβλέψασαι, εἰσελθοῦσαι, ἐξελθοῦσαι), the historic presents (ἔρχονται, θεωροῦσιν, λέγει) flagged as they land, and all speech hanging blue beneath its verb of saying — the women's τίς ἀποκυλίσει; worry under ἔλεγον, and the young man's announcement under λέγει, one clause per line: μὴ ἐκθαμβεῖσθε, the identification of the crucified Nazarene, the bare divine passive ἠγέρθη, οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε, ἴδε ὁ τόπος, then the ὑπάγετε-εἴπατε commission with the Galilee promise one level deeper. The section ends where the earliest recoverable text of Mark ends: v. 8 — flight, the two explanatory γάρ clauses (εἶχεν γὰρ αὐτὰς τρόμος καὶ ἔκστασις), the double negative οὐδενὶ οὐδέν, and the last two words, ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ. A book closing on a postpositive γάρ is the probable original ending — Sinaiticus and Vaticanus stop here — whether Mark meant the fear and silence to hand the ending to the reader, or a fuller close was lost; the layout gives the abruptness full weight by letting the flush-left column simply stop. Everything after is the LONGER ENDING (vv. 9–20), which this resource prints in full, as the chapter data does, while naming its status honestly: absent from ℵ and B and from witnesses known to Eusebius and Jerome ('the accurate copies' lacked it), rivaled in part of the tradition by a separate Shorter Ending, un-Markan in vocabulary (ἐφάνη, ἐθεάθη, ἐφανερώθη as appearance verbs; ὁ κύριος Ἰησοῦς nowhere else in Mark), and attached with a visible seam — Mary Magdalene re-introduced in v. 9 as though vv. 1–8 had not just named her. Read as the second-century digest it almost certainly is, its shape is its own: three appearances each met by unbelief (ἠπίστησαν, οὐδὲ ἐπίστευσαν, then the rebuke of ἀπιστία and σκληροκαρδία), the universal commission κηρύξατε with its believes-and-is-baptized / disbelieves antithesis, the five confirming signs stacked as a catena under σημεῖα — including the chapter's one conditional, κἂν θανάσιμόν τι πίωσιν, leaning forward on its emphatic οὐ μή apodosis — and a close that answers the commission point for point: the Lord Jesus taken up and enthroned ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ (Ps 110:1), the disciples preaching πανταχοῦ, and the genitive absolute τοῦ κυρίου συνεργοῦντος confirming the word through the very signs promised.