For what could a person give in exchange for his soul?
Parallel translations
- WEB For what will a man give in exchange for his life?
- KJV Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
- BSB Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
- NKJV Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
- NLT Is anything worth more than your soul?
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
There is nothing a person can give to buy back his own soul. The soul's worth is beyond all earthly price.
Overview
Building on the previous verse, Jesus underscores that no ransom of human making can redeem a lost life. The question silences any hope of self-purchased salvation. It points implicitly to Jesus himself, who gives his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), the only price sufficient to redeem the soul.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Ps 49:7–8none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him.
- 1 Pet 1:18–19knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 8:37 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
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