If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
- KJV For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
- BSB If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
- NKJV For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
- NASB for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
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
Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. Belonging to Christ in life and death is the believer's deepest identity and security.
Overview
Christ's ownership is total and unbreakable, spanning life and death alike. This is one of Scripture's great comforts: nothing, not even death, removes the believer from Christ's possession. The redeemed are His because He purchased them. Such belonging reorders all our choices around His honor and assures us we are safe in His hands forever.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Phil 1:20according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will in no way be disappointed, but with all boldness, as always, now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life, or by death.
- 1 Th 5:10who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
- Acts 21:13Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
- 1 Cor 15:23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s, at his coming.
- Rev 14:13I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.”
- Phil 2:17Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all.
- Acts 20:24But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.
- Acts 13:36For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers, and saw decay.
- 1 Cor 3:22–23whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours,
- John 21:19Now he said this, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. When he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
- 1 Th 4:14–18For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
- Phil 2:30because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 14:8 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.