What About The Ending Of Mark's Gospel?

 Bible readers will notice that Mark 16:9-20 in most translations has brackets around it, along with a note saying some early manuscripts do not include 16:9-20.  So is Mark 16:9-20 (the long ending) part of the original Gospel of Mark?  

There are three options with the ending of Mark's Gospel.  The first option is that 16:9-20 is authentic and part of the original.  The second option is that Mark ended his Gospel at 16:8.  The third option is that the original ending of Mark has been lost.  

Mark 16:9-20 is found in most of the Greek manuscripts, all except two.  The two manuscripts that do not contain it are also our earliest copies of Mark 16 (Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus) both of which date to around A.D. 350.  These two manuscripts are considered to be very reliable overall.  Also some manuscripts that do contain 16:9-20 have notes stating that some manuscripts of Mark end at 16:8.  

Eusebius (A.D. 260-339) states that most of the manuscripts that he has of Mark' Gospel end at 16:8.  Jerome (A.D. 347-420) also says that most of the manuscripts do not contain 16:9-20.  But on the other hand Irenaeus (A.D. 130-202) seems to quote from Mark 16:9-20.  

Mark 16:9-20 does not seem to fit with 16:1-8.  But Mark ending his Gospel at 16:8 would seem to be an unusual and abrupt ending, that does not contain resurrection appearances, although the resurrection is mentioned in 16:6.  It seems unlikely that the original ending of Mark has been lost.  

The issue of the ending of Mark's Gospel is complex and perplexing.