world (Chinese)

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “world” in English is translated in Mandarin Chinese with shìjiè (世界). While shìjiè is now the commonly used term for “world” in Chinese, it was popularized as such by Chinese Bible translations. (Source: Mak 2017, p. 241ff.)

See also world.

complete verse (Luke 9:25)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 9:25:

  • Noongar: “If a person gains everything in the world but loses his life, he does not gain anything, does he? No!” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “What is the purpose/What good is it [if] we gather all the riches of the worlds, but our souls themselves suffer-loss because we do not reach good life in the future.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “For a person, even if he would own all the wealth in the world, it isn’t of any use if he does not have everlasting life and he will yet be punished.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Even if a person can come to own the whole world, it’s of no value to him if he cannot come to own the life which has no end, and he will be punished besides.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “For what do-you-suppose will a person be-able-to-benefit if he comes-to-own the entire world and then his life is lost and he is punished forever?” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For what good does it do a person, even supposing all the wealth in the world becomes his, if his soul/spirit will be lost because is has to go there to hardship/suffering which has no ending?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 9:25

Exegesis:

ti gar ōpheleitai anthrōpos lit. ‘in what respect is a man profited,’ i.e. ‘what profit does a man have.’

ōpheleō pass ‘to be profited,’ ‘to acquire profit.’

heauton de apolesas ē zēmiōtheis lit. ‘but having lost himself or being punished.’ heauton may go with apolesas only, or with both apolesas and zēmiōtheis, the latter verb interpreted as ‘to forfeit’ (cf. Mk. 8.36). The former is more probable, since disjunctive ē suggests that the verbs are to be differentiated. Hence the phrase heauton de apolesas contrasts with kerdēsas ton kosmon holon and is best understood as referring to dying and zēmiōtheis is to be understood as in 1 Cor 3.15 and refers to punishment after death (cf. 12.5 and 16.23ff).

Translation:

Loses or forfeits himself, or, ‘loses himself and is punished’ (as advocated in Exegesis). The first phrase may also be rendered, ‘ruins himself’ (cf. Willibrord), ‘causes his own destruction/perdition’ (cf. Zürcher Bibel), ‘he himself perishes,’ “is himself lost” (Good News Translation); or negatively expressed, ‘does not preserve himself,’ ‘does no longer possess his own self.’ For ‘to be punished,’ or, ‘to suffer punishment,’ ‘to suffer (pain) because of one’s sins.’

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 9:25

9:25

This verse is a rhetorical question. Jesus used this question to emphasize that it is not at all valuable to gain the whole world but lose the opportunity to live forever with God. There are several ways to translate this:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

What does anyone gain by winning the whole world at the cost of destroying himself? (Revised English Bible)

• As a question with the answer supplied. For example:

Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but are yourself lost or defeated? Of course not! (Good News Translation)

• As a statement. For example:

It is worth nothing for them to have the whole world if they themselves are destroyed or lost. (New Century Version)

Use whichever form is most natural in your language to emphasize what Jesus was teaching here.

9:25a

What does it profit: The phrase What does it profit is asking about the worth or value of something. You could also translate this as:

What use is it…?
-or-
What benefit/value is it…?

a man: In this context the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as man refers to anyone, male or female.

gain the whole world: The phrase gain the whole world literally means to own the world and everything in it. This is a hyperbole. It refers to being very successful in earning money and obtaining material goods.

Some other ways to translate gain the whole world are:

win the whole world (Good News Translation)
-or-
own the whole world (Contemporary English Version)

This figure of speech emphasizes that even the whole world is worthless compared to the worth of a person’s soul. If a literal translation gives a wrong meaning in your language, you may need to express the emphasis in another way. For example:

obtain immense riches
-or-
be the wealthiest person in the world

9:25b

lose or forfeit his very self: The phrase lose or forfeit his very self refers to not only dying but also losing the opportunity to experience true life with God.

lose or forfeit: In this context the Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lose or forfeit mean “to fail to obtain something.” These two words have the same meaning in this context. So in some languages it may be more natural to use one word to translate this meaning.

his very self: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as his very self is literally “himself.” It means the same thing as “his life/soul” in 9:24. This refers to a person’s real self, the part of a person that never dies.

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