16:11

In this verse, Mary told Jesus’ followers that she had seen him alive again, and they did not believe her.

See also the General Comment on 16:11a–c for a suggestion about reordering the parts of this verse.

16:11a–b

And: There is a contrast here between the sadness of the disciples in 16:10b and Mary’s good news in 16:11a-b. Because of this, some versions translate this conjunction as “but”. Other versions do not use a conjunction. Introduce the verse in a way that is natural in your language.

when they heard that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him: The clauses in 16:11a–b tell two things that Mary told Jesus’ followers:

(a) Jesus was alive, and

(b) Mary had seen him.

The New Century Version shows another way to translate these verse parts:

But Mary told them that Jesus was alive. She said that she had seen him (New Century Version)

16:11c

they did not believe it: The disciples did not believe either of the two things that Mary told them. In some languages it may be necessary to indicate what the pronoun it refers to. For example:

they did not believe what she said.

General Comment on 16:11a–c

It may be clearer in some languages to reorder the clauses in 16:11. For example, the New Jerusalem Bible says:

11cBut they did not believe her 11awhen they heard her say that he was alive 11band that she had seen him.

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