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 He called the crowd, along with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and keep following Me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the sake of the Good News will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37For what could a man give in exchange for his soul? 38For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him 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 2:4The satan replied to Adonai saying, “Skin for skin! A man will give up all he has for his own life.
• Psalms 49:17Do not be afraid when a man gets rich, when his house’s splendor increases.
• Psalms 73:18Surely You put them in slippery places. You hurled them down to destruction.
• Matthew 4:8Again, the devil takes Him to a very high mountain and shows 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 but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
• Luke 9:25“For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself?
• Luke 12:19And I’ll say to myself, ’O my soul, you have plenty of goods saved up for many years! So take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry.”’
• Luke 16:19“Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, living it up in luxury every day.
• Philippians 3:7But whatever things were gain to me, these I have considered as loss for the sake of the Messiah.
• Revelation 18:7As she has exalted herself and indulged herself in luxury, so give her the same measure of torment and grief! For in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen— I am no widow; I shall never see grief.’
• Job 22:2“Can a man be useful to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him?
• Malachi 3:14You say: “Serving God is worthless.” Also: “What good is it that we kept His service or that we walked as mourners before Adonai-Tzva’ot?
• Romans 6:21So then, what outcome did you have that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death.
• Hebrews 11:24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
• James 1:9But let the brother in humble circumstances boast 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