Mark 8:36

Mark 8:36 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
• New International Version (NIV)What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
• English Standard Version (ESV)For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
• New King James Version (NKJV)For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

Context of Mark 8:36

34Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Mark 8:36 word by word

τί γὰρ ὠφελεῖ ἄνθρωπον κερδῆσαι τὸν κόσμον ὅλον καὶ ζημιωθῆναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ;Read the interlinear

• ·γάρgar · forG1063
• Whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• does it profitὠφελέωōpheleō · to helpG5623
• a manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• to gainκερδαίνωkerdainō · to gainG2770
• theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• wholeὅλοςholos · allG3650
• worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• yetκαίkai · andG2532
• forfeitζημιόωzēmioō · to loseG2210
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• soulψυχήpsuchē · soulG5590

Cross-references for Mark 8:36

• Job 2:4“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life.
• Psalms 49:17For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.
• Psalms 73:18Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
• Matthew 4:8Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
• Matthew 16:26What 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?
• Luke 9:25What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?
• Luke 12:19Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
• Luke 16:19Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
• Philippians 3:7But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
• Revelation 18:7As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’
• Job 22:2“Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him?
• Malachi 3:14You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?
• Romans 6:21What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death.
• Hebrews 11:24By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
• James 1:9The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.

Commentaries on Mark 8:36

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27-38Verses 27-38 See this passage illustrated in the notes at Mark 8:32 He spake that saying openly - With boldness or confidence, or without parables or figures, so that there could be no possibility of misunderstanding him. Mark 8:38 Ashamed of me - Ashamed to own attachment to me on account of my lowly appearance and my poverty. And of my words - My doctrines, my instructions. This adulterous and sinful generation - This age given to wickedness…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 34-38Verses 34-38 Frequent notice is taken of the great flocking there was to Christ for help in various cases. All are concerned to know this, if they expect him to heal their souls. They must not indulge the ease of the body. As the happiness of heaven with Christ, is enough to make up for the loss of life itself for him, so the gain of all the world in sin, will not make up for the ruin of the soul by sin. And there is a day coming, when the cause of Christ…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 36-37The implied answer to the rhetorical question Jesus asks is that possessing the entire world has no value if you give up eternal life. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose” (Jim Elliot). You need your soul to enjoy the benefits of the world to come. When you forfeit your life or soul, there is nothing you can give to purchase it back.Read the comment

Topics related to Mark 8:36

• Jesus, the Christ
• Wicked (People)
• Worldliness

In the dictionaries

• Adulterous
• Deeply
• Faint
• Sigh
• Forfeit
• Mark, the Gospel According to
• Resurrection
• World, Cosmological

Commentaries on Mark 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings