16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices 1 so that they might go and anoint him. 16:2 And very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 16:3 They had been asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 16:4 But 2 when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled back. 16:5 Then 3 as they went into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe 4 sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
1 tn On this term see BDAG 140 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these materials were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition.
2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
4 sn Mark does not explicitly identify the young man dressed in a white robe as an angel (though the white robe suggests this), but Matthew does (Matt 28:2).