1 Samuel 26:21

26:21 Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won’t harm you, for you treated my life with value ¹  this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!” ² 

1 Samuel 26:24

26:24 In the same way that I valued your life this day, ³  may the Lord value my life ⁴  and deliver me from all danger.”

Psalms 49:8

49:8 (the ransom price for a human life ⁵  is too high,

and people go to their final destiny), ⁶ 

Psalms 72:14

72:14 From harm and violence he will defend them; ⁷ 

he will value their lives. ⁸ 

Psalms 116:15

116:15 The Lord values

the lives of his faithful followers. ⁹ 

Proverbs 6:26

6:26 for on account ¹⁰  of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread,

but the wife of another man ¹¹  preys on your precious life. ¹² 

Matthew 16:25-26

16:25 For whoever wants to save his life ¹³  will lose it, ¹⁴  but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 16:26 For what does it benefit a person ¹⁵  if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?

Acts 20:24

20:24 But I do not consider my life ¹⁶  worth anything ¹⁷  to myself, so that ¹⁸  I may finish my task ¹⁹  and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news ²⁰  of God’s grace.

[26:21]  ¹ tn Heb “my life was valuable in your eyes.”

[26:21]  ² tn Heb “and I have erred very greatly.”

[26:24]  ³ tn Heb “your life was great this day in my eyes.”

[26:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “may my life be great in the eyes of the Lord.”

[49:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “their life.” Some emend the text to “his life,” understanding the antecedent of the pronoun as “brother” in v. 7. However, the man and brother of v. 7 are representative of the human race in general, perhaps explaining why a plural pronoun appears in v. 8. Of course, the plural pronoun could refer back to “the rich” mentioned in v. 6. Another option (the one assumed in the translation) is that the suffixed mem is enclitic. In this case the “ransom price for human life” is referred to an abstract, general way.

[49:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “and one ceases forever.” The translation assumes an indefinite subject which in turn is representative of the entire human race (“one,” that refers to human beings without exception). The verb חָדַל (khadal, “cease”) is understood in the sense of “come to an end; fail” (i.e., die). Another option is to translate, “and one ceases/refrains forever.” In this case the idea is that the living, convinced of the reality of human mortality, give up all hope of “buying off” God and refrain from trying to do so.

[72:14]  ⁷ tn Or “redeem their lives.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Pss 19:14; 69:18).

[72:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “their blood will be precious in his eyes.”

[116:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “precious in the eyes of the Lord [is] the death of his godly ones.” The point is not that God delights in or finds satisfaction in the death of his followers! The psalmist, who has been delivered from death, affirms that the life-threatening experiences of God’s followers get God’s attention, just as a precious or rare object would attract someone’s eye. See Ps 72:14 for a similar expression of this belief.

[6:26]  ¹⁰ tn The word בְעַד (bÿ’ad) may be taken either as “on account of” (= by means of a) prostitute (cf. ASV, NASB), or “for the price of” a prostitute (cf. NAB). Most expositors take the first reading, though that use of the preposition is unattested, and then must supply “one is brought to.” The verse would then say that going to a prostitute can bring a man to poverty, but going to another man’s wife can lead to death. If the second view were taken, it would mean that one had a smaller price than the other. It is not indicating that one is preferable to the other; both are to be avoided.

[6:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the wife of a man.”

[6:26]  ¹² tn These two lines might be an example of synthetic parallelism, that is, “A, what’s more B.” The A-line describes the detrimental moral effect of a man going to a professional prostitute; the B-line heightens this and describes the far worse effect – moral and mortal! – of a man committing adultery with another man’s wife. When a man goes to a prostitute, he lowers himself to become nothing more than a “meal ticket” to sustain the life of that woman; however, when a man commits adultery, he places his very life in jeopardy – the rage of the husband could very well kill him.

[16:25]  ¹³ tn Or “soul” (throughout vv. 25-26).

[16:25]  ¹⁴ sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.

[16:26]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.

[20:24]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “soul.”

[20:24]  ¹⁷ tn Or “I do not consider my life worth a single word.” According to BDAG 599 s.v. λόγος 1.a.α, “In the textually uncertain pass. Ac 20:24 the text as it stands in N., οὐδενὸς λόγου (v.l. λόγον) ποιοῦμαι τὴν ψυχὴν τιμίαν, may well mean: I do not consider my life worth a single word (cp. λόγου ἄξιον [ἄξιος 1a] and our ‘worth mention’).”

[20:24]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 1106 s.v. ὡς 9 describes this use as “a final particle, expressing intention/purpose, with a view to, in order to.”

[20:24]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “course.” See L&N 42.26, “(a figurative extension of meaning of δρόμος ‘race’) a task or function involving continuity, serious, effort, and possibly obligation – ‘task, mission’…Ac 20:24.” On this Pauline theme see also Phil 1:19-26; Col 1:24; 2 Tim 4:6-7.

[20:24]  ²⁰ tn Or “to the gospel.”