Matthew 16:26 BSB — MannaFest

Matthew 16:26

What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?

KJV

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

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Commentary

2 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Matthew (420)

But what exchange will a man give for his soul? For Israel, Egypt and Ethiopia are given in exchange, and Syene (Isaiah XLIII, 3, 4): for the human soul, that alone is the retribution, which the Psalmist sings: What shall I render to the Lord for all that He has rendered to me? I will take the cup of salvation, and will invoke the name of the Lord (Psalm CXV, 3).

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

For what is a man profited,.... Such persons, though they are only seeking their own profit, will find themselves most sadly mistaken; for of what advantage will it be to such a man, if he shall gain the whole world; all that is precious and valuable in it; all the power, pleasures, and riches of it; if with Alexander, he had the government of the whole world, and with Solomon, all the delights of it; and was possessed with the wealth of Croesus, and Crassus, and lose his own soul?

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Lose his own soul - Or, lose his life, την ψυχην αυτου. On what authority many have translated the word ψυχη, in the 25th verse, life, and in this verse, soul, I know not, but am certain it means life in both places. If a man should gain the whole world, its riches, honors, and pleasures, and lose his life, what would all these profit him, seeing they can only be enjoyed during life? But if the words be applied to the soul, they show the difficulty - the necessity - and importance of salvation.

J.C. Ryle

1816–1900

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew (1856)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

22 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Τί	Ti	What	G5101 →
γὰρ	gar	for	G1063 →
ὠφεληθήσεται	ōphelēthēsetai	will it be profitable	G5623 →
ἄνθρωπος,	anthrōpos	[for] a man,	G444 →
ἐὰν	ean	if	G1437 →
τὸν	ton	the	G3588 →
κόσμον	kosmon	world	G2889 →
ὅλον	holon	whole	G3650 →
κερδήσῃ,	kerdēsē	he shall gain,	G2770 →
τὴν	tēn	<the>	G3588 →
δὲ	de	but	G1161 →
ψυχὴν	psuchēn	the soul	G5590 →
αὐτοῦ	autou	of him	G846 →
ζημιωθῇ;	zēmiōthēa	shall lose?	G2210 →
ἢ	ē	Or	G2228 →
τί	ti	what	G5101 →
δώσει	dōsei	will give	G1325 →
ἄνθρωπος	anthrōpos	a man	G444 →
ἀντάλλαγμα	antallagma	[as] an exchange for	G465 →
τῆς	tēs	the	G3588 →
ψυχῆς	psuchēs	soul	G5590 →
αὐτοῦ;	autou	of him?	G846 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Luke 12:20
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
leads to
- Job 27:8
  For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
- Jeremiah 17:11
  Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will…
- 1 Timothy 6:7
  For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it.
- Psalms 39:6
  Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.
- James 4:14
  You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Through
Luke 9:25
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?
leads to
- Mark 8:36
  What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
- Psalms 49:6–8
  They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
- Luke 12:19–21
  Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’