Mormon 9:24
1830 Edition
Influences
Changes
Simple English
'These signs will follow those who believe. In my name they will make bad spirits go away. They will speak in new languages. They will pick up snakes. If they drink any poison, it will not hurt them. They will put their hands on sick people, and the sick people will get better.'
Paraphrase
And these signs will follow believers: In my name they’ll drive out demons. They’ll speak in new languages. They’ll handle serpents. If they drink anything deadly, it won’t harm them. They’ll lay hands on the sick, and the sick will recover.
Notes
Upon close examination, Mormon 9:22–24 appears to draw directly from Mark 16:15–18. This presents a problem. Although there is not complete unanimity, the vast majority of biblical scholars agree that the so-called longer ending of Mark—Mark 16:9–20—was not part of the original Gospel of Mark. The two earliest complete Greek manuscripts of Mark, Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, both end the Gospel at Mark 16:8, omitting the longer ending entirely.
For further discussion, Peter M. Head (PhD, University of Cambridge) provides a helpful analysis in his article, “A Case Against the Longer Ending of Mark,” published by the Text & Canon Institute.
If scholars are correct that Mark 16:9–20 is a later addition, then its apparent quotation in Mormon 9:22–24 becomes difficult to explain. The presence of this passage suggests an uncritical reliance on the King James Version, including textual variants that arose after the earliest manuscripts—variants that would have little reason to appear in a text (Book of Mormon) claiming to be an ancient record.