Romans 14:8
in Romans 14If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
KJV
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
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This verse in Romans 14
Commentary
12 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For whether we live - As long as we live. We live unto the Lord - We live to do his will, and to promote his glory. This is the grand purpose of the life of the Christian. Other people live to gratify themselves; the Christian to do those things which the Lord requires. By “the Lord” here the apostle evidently intends the Lord Jesus, as it is evident from Rom 14:9; and the truth taught here is, that it is the leading and grand purpose of the Christian to do honor to the Saviour.
This site's exposition
none of us lives to himself alone
on Romans 14:7-9
Living and dying both belong to the Lord, so no believer owns either one. Christ died and returned to life to be Lord over both the dead and the living. The question of eating sits inside that ownership.
This site's exposition
So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord
Paul had never visited Rome, and still he counts on the believers there to agree with him. That a man belongs to the Lord in life and death was the common teaching of every preacher. The Lord keeps His own.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A commentator
Theodore of MopsuestiaPAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH · Written before 428.
proposed
If we live, it is Christ's life that we live; if we die, we die with him, under his custody.
"For none of us liveth unto himself, and no man dieth unto himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord," by this too he makes the same clearer. For how can he that liveth unto the Law, be living unto Christ? But this is not the only thing that he effects by this, he also holds back the person who was in so much haste for their being set right, and persuades him to be patient, by showing that it is impossible for God to despise them, but that in due time He will set them right. What is the force then of "none of us liveth to himself?" It means, We are not free, we have a Master who also would have us live, and willeth not that we die, and to whom both of these are of more interest than to us. For by what is here said he shows that he hath a greater concern for us than we have ourselves, and considereth more than we do, as well our life to be wealth, as our death to be a loss. For we do not die to ourselves alone, but to our Master also, if we do die. But by death here he means that from the faith. However, this were enough to convince us that He taketh care for us, in that it is to Him we live, and to Him we die. Still he is not satisfied with saying this, but proceeds further. For after saying, "Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's," and passing from that death to the physical one, that he may not give an appearance of harshness to his language, he gives another very great indication of His care for us. Now of what kind is this?
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS · Written before 253.
proposed
For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself; whether therefore we live, we live to the Lord; or whether we die, we die to the Lord. Whether therefore we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died and lived, that he might have dominion over both the dead and the living.
The Medieval Church2 voices
We have, he says, a Lord Who cares for us and Who considers our life a gain and our death a loss. For we live or die not for ourselves alone, but also for the Lord. By life he means here the life in faith, …
From death by faith he passes to natural death; for he now discusses this. Whether we live, he says, the natural life, we are the Lord's; whether we die a natural death, we likewise belong to the Lord.
4 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he describes the right intention of believers, saying: if we live with our bodily life, we live unto the Lord, i.e., to the glory of the Lord; and if we die a bodily death, we die unto the Lord, i.e., to the honor of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), to the Lord Christ, to whom all power and judgment are committed, and in whose name we are taught, as Christians, to do every thing we do ( Col. iii. 17 ), with an eye to the will of Christ as our rule, to the glory of Christ as our end, Phil. i. Christ is the gain we aim at, living and dying.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
And since the apostle, when he wrote these words, had never been at Rome, he could only know that the Roman Christians would assent to this view of Christ, because it was the common teaching of all the accredited preachers of Christianity, and the common faith of all Christians.
The words behind it
23 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐάν | ean | If | G1437 → | 352 times |
| τε | te | both | G5037 → | 213 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| ζῶμεν, | zomen | we shall live, | G2198 → | 139 times |
| τῷ | to | to the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κυρίῳ | kurio | Lord | G2962 → | 711 times |
| ζῶμεν, | zomen | we live, | G2198 → | 139 times |
| ἐάν | ean | if | G1437 → | 352 times |
| τε | te | also | G5037 → | 213 times |
| ἀποθνῄσκωμεν, | apothneskomen | we shall die, | G599 → | 110 times |
| τῷ | to | to the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κυρίῳ | kurio | Lord | G2962 → | 711 times |
| ἀποθνῄσκομεν. | apothneskomen | we die. | G599 → | 110 times |
| ἐάν | ean | If | G1437 → | 352 times |
| τε | te | both | G5037 → | 213 times |
| οὖν | oun | therefore | G3767 → | 497 times |
| ζῶμεν, | zomen | we shall live, | G2198 → | 139 times |
| ἐάν | ean | if | G1437 → | 352 times |
| τε | te | also | G5037 → | 213 times |
| ἀποθνῄσκωμεν, | apothneskomen | we shall die, | G599 → | 110 times |
| τοῦ | tou | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κυρίου | kuriou | Lord’s | G2962 → | 711 times |
| ἐσμέν. | esmen | we are. | G1510 → | 2333 times |
ἐάνIf
eanG1437 →352 times
τεboth
teG5037 →213 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
ζῶμεν,we shall live,
zomenG2198 →139 times
τῷto the
toG3588 →19766 times
κυρίῳLord
kurioG2962 →711 times
ζῶμεν,we live,
zomenG2198 →139 times
ἐάνif
eanG1437 →352 times
τεalso
teG5037 →213 times
ἀποθνῄσκωμεν,we shall die,
apothneskomenG599 →110 times
τῷto the
toG3588 →19766 times
κυρίῳLord
kurioG2962 →711 times
ἀποθνῄσκομεν.we die.
apothneskomenG599 →110 times
ἐάνIf
eanG1437 →352 times
τεboth
teG5037 →213 times
οὖνtherefore
ounG3767 →497 times
ζῶμεν,we shall live,
zomenG2198 →139 times
ἐάνif
eanG1437 →352 times
τεalso
teG5037 →213 times
ἀποθνῄσκωμεν,we shall die,
apothneskomenG599 →110 times
τοῦthe
touG3588 →19766 times
κυρίουLord’s
kuriouG2962 →711 times
ἐσμέν.we are.
esmenG1510 →2333 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 14:13And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors,…
it leads to
- Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him…
- 1 Thessalonians 5:10
He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.
- 2 Timothy 4:7–8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
- Hebrews 4:9–11
There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
- 1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
- Revelation 20:6
Through
Philippians 1:20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or…
it leads to
- 1 Peter 4:16
But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name.
- 1 Corinthians 6:20
you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
- 1 Peter 4:16
Through
Acts 21:13Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
it leads to
- Acts 20:24
But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good…
- Acts 20:24
Where this verse is studied
About Romans
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Epistle to the Romans; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Romans 25; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS; Theodore of Mopsuestia, PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Romans and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Romans.