DISCREDITING the LAST 12 VERSES of MARK: The Amplified Bible and Ryrie's -- KJV Bible

 WHICH MODERN ENGLISH BIBLES DISCREDITED

the Last 12 Verses of MARK ?

See the ending of Mark:  "EPHOBOUNTO GAR"   . . .  for they were afraid, VERSE 8 in the Codex Sinaiticus. Plus, note the decorative marks that show the Book of Mark ended at vs 8 . . . in the SINAITICUS, only 1 of 2 manuscripts sporting such an ending of Mark 16.  The rest of the column
would hold verses 9 through 20. The column on the right is the beginning of Luke. 

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WHICH MODERN ENGLISH BIBLES DISCREDITED

the Last 12 Verses of MARK ?

That is: Omitted, foot-noted, discredited, or in some manner cast doubt upon the authenticity of these verses regarding the Resurrection and Ascension of CHRIST JESUS.

A review of the Amplified Bible—Classic ( 1958 – 1987 ), the newer Amplified Bible ( 2015 ), and Ryrie’s KJV Bible.

Readers of these Bibles should be aware that these Bibles discredit the Last 12 verses in Mark, verses which are verified by 600 of the extant manuscripts, nearly all of the ancient Versions, and the many Lectionaries used in the ancient church.

The Lectionaries are significant witnesses in this regard because ALL 12 verses are included in total in the customary lessons ( i.e., “lections” ) for the Resurrection services and the Ascension Day service. These lections are also mentioned in the writings of the Early Christians from around the Christian world.  

These Last 12 verses are also attested to by Irenaeus ( 130 – 200 AD ), Tertullian ( 160 – 230 AD ), Cyprian ( d. 258 ), and the Constitutions of the Holy Apostles ( 250-325 AD ) --- all before the 330 to 360 AD date of the Codex Sinaiticus and most before the 300 to 325 date of the Vaticanus. [ There has been no carbon dating as of yet on the Sinaiticus manuscript. ]

DEAN Burgon lists 19 Patristic witnesses of the Pre-Nicene years and the Ante-Nicene years, all who quoted some verses verbatim from the Last 12 Verses in Mark --- obviously NOT using the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus codices.

BIBLE REVIEW

The Amplified Bible , 1958 - 1987 ( " The Classic AMP " ), the Lockman Foundation / Zondervan

Marks the passage with a footnote ( paperback, 1987 ed., page 1152, footnote z ) which states:

" Some of the earliest manuscripts

do not contain verses 9 - 20. "

PROBLEMS: Enormously incomplete information  

"Some" in this passage, means only 2 uncials. [ A more honest statement would have been: These verses are in ALL but 2 uncials.]

 Those uncials ( the early manuscripts with all capital letters, no spaces between words )   are the Sinaiticus א and Vaticanus B , out of the 41 uncials listed in Nestle-Aland’s 26^th edition of the Greek New Testament.

Dean Burgon in 1871 listed approximately 600 minuscules for the book of Mark, although there may be more by this time.

[The number of minuscules or cursive manuscripts for the book of Mark is listed as 600 by Dean Burgon, The Last Twelve Verses of Mark, pg 71. ]

The Alexandrinus Uncial Codex DOES include Mark 16:9 - 20, and it is dated to only 50 years after   א  and B  , which is a very slim margin because the dating of these ancient mss is always an approximation and subjectively done.

Also, the 5^th-century Codex C, Ephraemi Rescriptus,, includes the Last 12 Verses of Mark.  

Although the natural mind might think that the oldest manuscript  equals oldest text , that is a supposition.

The autographs are lost to us [ See the “Memoirs of the Apostles”, in Justin Martyr ( 110-165 AD), Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, “Dialogue with Trypho,” chapter 103, pg. 251; chapter 107, pg. 252.]

However, the careful transmission of the Byzantine text through the centuries is thought to preserve a TEXT closer to the original than the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, although the manuscripts written upon, themselves,  are younger.

The Amplified Bible , 2015, Lockman Foundation, includes the verses inside of brackets [   ]  in order to signal the reader that something may be questionable about the authenticity of those Last 12 verses.

Ryrie Study Bible --- KJV , 1978 ed., Moody Press, editor: Charles Caldwell Ryrie. pg. 1433, footnote at Mark 16:9-20:

" These verses do not appear in two of the most truthworthy manuscripts of the N.T., though they are part of many other manuscripts and versions. 

If  they are not a part of the genuine text of Mark, the abrupt ending at verse 8 is probably because the original closing verses were lost. 

The doubtful genuine-ness of verses 9-20 makes it unwise to build a doctrine or base an experience on them ( especially vv. 16-18 ) ."

PROBLEMS: A Loaded and Mis-leading Footnote  

The statement, " two of the most truthworthy manuscripts " could not be further from the truth !

Herman C. Hoskier ( 1914 ) and DEAN John William Burgon (1883 ) did meticulous and tedious studies on both the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus manuscripts, pinpointing thousands --- yes, THOUSANDS --- of errors not only in comparison with the Byzantine texts, but also between the  א  and B  Codices themselves.

 Hoskier wrote two volumes, about 900 pages total, detailing the errors of those two "earliest" manuscripts. [ Codex B and its Allies ]

These errors even included a host of bad Greek grammar called "solecisms". 

Ryrie deals with the SUPPOSED abrupt ending of the book of Mark:  " for they were afraid" ( verse 16:8  ), by saying the original ending was probably lost. 

However, the original ending was NOT lost in about 600 cursives and 39 OTHER Uncial manuscripts !

Nor were they lost to the Early Christian writers who quoted those verses --- among whom were counted Irenaeus and Tertullian.  

Nor were they lost from the ancient Lectionaries of the East ( i.e., Asia Minor, etc.,  not the Orient ) which quoted this passage during BOTH the Resurrection and Ascension Day church services !

  Ryrie wrote:
  "The doubtful genuine-ness of verses 9-20 makes it unwise to build a doctrine or base an experience on them ( especially vv. 16-18 ) ."

However, Ryrie was wrong. In both doctrine and experience, these verses are important to establish Truth.

The Resurrection of His+ dead Body and the Ascension of the Glorified CHRIST are core doctrines for the Christian faith !

The several witnesses to The LORD'S bodily Resurrection are recorded in these 12 verses, adding another voice of witness to the testimony of the other disciples.

CHRIST upbraided His+ disciples for their unbelief, their hardness of heart, and for refusing the witnesses which HE+ sent to them. If the disciples had continued on in their unbelief and hardness of heart, they would have not ended up in Heaven.  This is a rather important central doctrine in Christianity.

Similarly, what could Ryrie object to in this verse ?

Mark 16:16

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;

but he that believeth not shall be damned.

The Mark 16:16 establishes a correct doctrine of salvation, directly in opposition to Ryrie’s statement.  

The experience of  signs and wonders confirming The Word as the disciples / apostles obeyed CHRIST'S commands to preach the Gospel in every place is still occurring in China and other places.

It seems Ryrie had missed the mark in his comment which discredited even the very words spoken by CHRIST JESUS.

Alas, Ryrie published his own unbelief to accompany these verses in Mark, leading others to doubt Scripture which was well-substantiated by the Early Church and ancient manuscripts and quite in line with both the experiences of the Apostles and in accord with other Scriptures .

 We do recall it was recorded that the Apostle Paul was bitten by a viper and shook it off into the fire, remaining unharmed. Poisoning is not recorded in Scriptures . . . but it is still happening in places like Indonesia as a way to rid oneself of an enemy.

Indeed, from the Fragments of Papias ( 70-155 AD) who was acquainted with Polycarp and the Apostle John, records such an incident of a Christian unharmed by poison. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, “Fragments of Papias”, section 6, pg. 154.

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See this documentary link:  PART 2 --- Is the SINAITICUS a Forged Document ?