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Today's Verse Analysis

Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited,

Jesus is discussing the nature of "Self" in the larger context of his death.

Spoken to
Apostles

Matthew 16:26 τί γὰρ ὠφεληθήσεται ἄνθρωπος ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδήσῃ τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ζημιωθῇ; ἢ τί δώσει ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ;

KJV Verse

Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

NIV Verse:

Matthew 16:26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

What His Listeners Heard:

Because how will a person be helped when he gains the whole world, however, he is damaged that self of his?  Or what will a person hand over in a trade for that self of his?

Lost In Translation:

The "soul" in this verse was translated as "life" in the previous verse. In doing this, the connection between the two verses is lost. See this article for more. 

This verse consistently uses economic terminology to makes its point but that is lost in translation. However. oddly, the verb translated in the KJV as "profited" is less economic than other terms. The term translated as "gain," however, does refer to a financial profit and is used only in this verse and the similar ones in Mark and Luke. The term translated as "lose/forfeit" refers to a financial loss and is used only in this verse and the similar ones in Mark and Luke. It is not the "lose" in the previous verse. More about the meaning of these words in this article. 

KJV w/Translation Issues :

For what is(WT) a man profited, if(CW) he shall(CW) gain the whole world, and(WW) lose(CW, WF) his own(IW) (MW) soul(CW)? or what shall a man give in exchange for his (MW) soul(CW)?

KJV List (See full page for word-by-word analysis):
For analysis of each word of original Greek and biblical verses, click here.

Constantly Updated

My analysis standards and methods are constantly improving. New information on each verse is provided as articles are updated. It requires approximately two years for me to work through updating each of Jesus's verses.

What Jesus's Listeners Heard

The everyday meanings of the Greek words Jesus used were different than the definitions they have been given over time in biblical translation. The word translations here are based upon documents of his time such as the Greek Septuagint, not ideas unknown in his time.

About this Site

See what Jesus said in Greek and see how his words are changed in English translation. My goal is to translate Jesus's words as they were heard when he taught, not the way they are interpreted today. The work here resurrects the humor and cleverness of Jesus's words lost in translation.

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Each article provides detailed information on all the Greek words in each verse with links simplifying your own research. It compares the Greek to popular translations to show where words are confused, changed, left out, and added. This site offers research available nowhere else, such as how often Jesus uses a specific Greek word and links to a list of every verse in which he uses a given word.