16:3a

In some languages it may be natural to connect verses 2-3 with a phrase. For example:

On the way (Good News Bible)
-or-
As they walked

16:3b

Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?: In the Greek text, 16:3b includes a phrase that means “for us,” as in the New Jerusalem Bible:

Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?

The phrase “for us” indicates that the stone was too large for the women to roll away from the entrance (see 16:4b). They wondered whom they could ask to roll it away for them. Express this idea in a natural way in your language. Another way to say this is:

Who will move the stone aside so that we can enter the tomb?

roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb: In 15:46e Mark said that Joseph “rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.” This was a common way to protect the dead bodies inside a tomb so that people or animals could not easily enter to harm them. Only a very strong person could move this stone away from the entrance.

In some languages it may be necessary to indicate that the stone was blocking the entrance to the tomb so that people could not enter. For example:

roll back the stone that blocks the entrance to the tomb

General Comment on 16:3a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to translate the women’s words using indirect speech. For example, the New Living Translation, 1996 edition says:

On the way they were discussing who would roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb.

In other languages it may be helpful to give information about the stone before the women’s speech. For example:

3aAs they walked, they talked about 3bthe stone that was at the entrance of the tomb. 3aThey asked each other, 3b“Who will roll that stone aside for us?”

See the General Comment on 16:3–4 at the end of 16:4b for a suggestion about reordering.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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