Mark 16 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary from Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint his body.

Very early on the first day of the week, just as the sun was coming up, they went to the tomb.

They were asking each other, "Who's going to roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb for us?"

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had already been rolled away -- and it was a massive stone.

When they went into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were completely stunned.

He said to them, "Don't be alarmed. You're looking for Jesus from Nazareth, the one who was executed on a stake. He has been raised! He's not here. Look -- here's the place where they laid him."

"Now go tell his students -- and especially Peter -- that he's going ahead of you into Galilee. You'll see him there, just like he told you."

They went out and ran from the tomb, trembling and beside themselves. And they didn't say anything to anyone, because they were terrified.

[The earliest and most reliable manuscripts end at verse 8. What follows (verses 9-20) was added later by other writers, probably in the second century, and is not found in the oldest Greek manuscripts such as Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. While it reflects early Christian tradition, most scholars agree it was not written by the original author of Mark.] After Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary from Magdala, from whom he had driven out seven evil spirits.

She went and told those who had been with him, who were now grieving and crying.

When they heard that he was alive and that she had seen him, they refused to believe it.

After this, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they were walking out into the countryside.

They went back and told the others, but they didn't believe them either.

Later, Jesus appeared to the eleven themselves as they were eating. He confronted them about their stubborn refusal to trust and their hard hearts, because they had not believed the people who had seen him after he had been raised.

He told them, "Go into the whole world and announce the good news to every person alive."

Whoever trusts and is submerged will be rescued. But whoever refuses to trust will be condemned.

And these signs will accompany those who trust: In my name they will drive out evil spirits, they will speak in new languages,

they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink anything deadly, it won't hurt them at all. They will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right side of God.

Then they went out and announced the message everywhere. The Lord worked alongside them and confirmed the message through the signs that accompanied it.