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?
• New King James Version (NKJV)For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
• New Living Translation (NLT)And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

Context of Mark 8:36

34And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• shall it profitὠφελέωōpheleō · to helpG5623
• a manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• he shall gainκερδαίνωkerdainō · to gainG2770
• theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• theκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• wholeὅλοςholos · allG3650
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• loseζημιόωzēmioō · to loseG2210
• his ownαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• soulψυχήpsuchē · soulG5590

Cross-references for Mark 8:36

• Job 2:4Then Satan answered the Lord and said, "Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.
• Psalms 49:17For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.
• Psalms 73:18Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to 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 16:26For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
• Luke 9:25For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
• Luke 12:19And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry."'
• Luke 16:19"There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
• Philippians 3:7But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
• Revelation 18:7As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, 'I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.'
• Job 22:2"Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
• Malachi 3:14You have said, 'It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?
• Romans 6:21But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
• Hebrews 11:24By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,
• James 1:9Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,

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