Matthew 10:39

10:39 Whoever finds his life ¹  will lose it, ²  and whoever loses his life because of me ³  will find it.

Esther 4:14

4:14 “Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the one Jew ⁴  who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear ⁵  from another source, ⁶  while you and your father’s household perish. It may very well be ⁷  that you have achieved royal status ⁸  for such a time as this!”

Esther 4:16

4:16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I ⁹  will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. ¹⁰  If I perish, I perish!”

Mark 8:35

8:35 For whoever wants to save his life ¹¹  will lose it, ¹²  but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it.

Luke 17:33

17:33 Whoever tries to keep ¹³  his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life ¹⁴  will preserve it.

John 12:25

12:25 The one who loves his life ¹⁵  destroys ¹⁶  it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards ¹⁷  it for eternal life.

Acts 20:23-24

20:23 except ¹⁸  that the Holy Spirit warns ¹⁹  me in town after town ²⁰  that ²¹  imprisonment ²²  and persecutions ²³  are waiting for me. 20:24 But I do not consider my life ²⁴  worth anything ²⁵  to myself, so that ²⁶  I may finish my task ²⁷  and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news ²⁸  of God’s grace.

Revelation 12:11

12:11 But ²⁹  they overcame him

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony,

and they did not love their lives ³⁰  so much that they were afraid to die.

[10:39]  ¹ tn Grk “his soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[10:39]  ² sn If there is no willingness to suffer the world’s rejection at this point, then one will not respond to Jesus (which is trying to find life) and then will be subject to this judgment (which is losing it).

[10:39]  ³ tn Or “for my sake.” The traditional rendering “for my sake” can be understood in the sense of “for my benefit,” but the Greek term ἕνεκα indicates the cause or reason for something (BDAG 334 s.v. 1).

[4:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “from all the Jews”; KJV “more than all the Jews”; NIV “you alone of all the Jews.”

[4:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “stand”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT “arise.”

[4:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “place” (so KJV, NIV, NLT); NRSV “from another quarter.” This is probably an oblique reference to help coming from God. D. J. A. Clines disagrees; in his view a contrast between deliverance by Esther and deliverance by God is inappropriate (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther [NCBC], 302). But Clines’ suggestion that perhaps the reference is to deliverance by Jewish officials or by armed Jewish revolt is less attractive than seeing this veiled reference as part of the literary strategy of the book, which deliberately keeps God’s providential dealings entirely in the background.

[4:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “And who knows whether” (so NASB). The question is one of hope, but free of presumption. Cf. Jonah 3:9.

[4:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “have come to the kingdom”; NRSV “to royal dignity”; NIV “to royal position”; NLT “have been elevated to the palace.”

[4:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.

[4:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “which is not according to the law” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “contrary to the law.”

[8:35]  ¹¹ tn Or “soul” (throughout vv. 35-37).

[8:35]  ¹² 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.

[17:33]  ¹³ tn Or “tries to preserve”; Grk “seeks to gain.”

[17:33]  ¹⁴ sn Whoever loses his life. Suffering and persecution caused by the world, even to death, cannot stop God from saving (Luke 12:4-6).

[12:25]  ¹⁵ tn Or “soul.”

[12:25]  ¹⁶ tn Or “loses.” Although the traditional English translation of ἀπολλύει (apolluei) in John 12:25 is “loses,” the contrast with φυλάξει (fulaxei, “keeps” or “guards”) in the second half of the verse favors the meaning “destroy” here.

[12:25]  ¹⁷ tn Or “keeps.”

[20:23]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 826 s.v. πλήν 1.d has “πλὴν ὅτι except that…Ac 20:23.”

[20:23]  ¹⁹ tn The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn” (BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 2 has “solemnly urge, exhort, warn…w. dat. of pers. addressed”), and this meaning better fits the context here, although BDAG categorizes Acts 20:23 under the meaning “testify of, bear witness to” (s.v. 1).

[20:23]  ²⁰ tn The Greek text here reads κατὰ πόλιν (kata polin).

[20:23]  ²¹ tn Grk “saying that,” but the participle λέγον (legon) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[20:23]  ²² tn Grk “bonds.”

[20:23]  ²³ tn Or “troubles,” “suffering.” See Acts 19:21; 21:4, 11.

[20:24]  ²⁴ tn Grk “soul.”

[20:24]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Or “to the gospel.”

[12:11]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.

[12:11]  ³⁰ sn They did not love their lives. See Matt 16:25; Luke 17:33; John 12:25.