What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?
Parallel translations
- WEB For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits his own self?
- KJV For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
- NKJV For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
- NASB For what good does it do a person if he gains the whole world, but loses or forfeits himself?
- NLT And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus asks what it profits to gain the whole world yet lose oneself. No earthly gain can compensate for the loss of one's soul.
Overview
This rhetorical question exposes the folly of pursuing worldly gain at the cost of eternal ruin. Every possession and achievement is worthless if a person forfeits his own self before God. It calls the hearer to weigh the eternal value of the soul against the fleeting riches of the world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Matt 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?
- Mark 8:36What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
- Ps 49:6–8They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
- Luke 12:19–21Then 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 4:5–7Then the devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
- 2 Pet 2:15–17They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
- 1 Cor 9:27No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
- Acts 1:25to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.”
- Matt 13:50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Mark 9:43–48If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.
- Rev 18:7–8As 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.’
- Acts 1:18(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.
- Luke 16:24–25So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’
- Matt 13:48When it was full, the men pulled it ashore. Then they sat down and sorted the good fish into containers, but threw the bad away.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 9:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.