Matthew 16:26 Meaning — What Is a Man Profited?

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?

Matthew 16:26KJV

What does Matthew 16:26 mean?

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? Matthew 16:26 poses the ultimate cost-benefit question.

Jesus imagines the maximum possible worldly success — gaining the whole world — and sets against it the loss of one's own soul. It is a devastating comparison: even total success, if it costs the soul, is a catastrophic loss.

The second question drives it home: what would you accept in exchange for your soul? Nothing is worth it, because nothing else is eternal. The verse reorders every ambition. Success that neglects the soul is not success at all, and no earthly gain can buy back what is eternal.

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1 Corinthians 10:13 · 1 Corinthians 13:13 · 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 · 1 Corinthians 15:58 · 1 John 1:9 · 1 John 4:19 · 1 Peter 2:9 · 1 Peter 5:7 · 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 · 2 Corinthians 12:9 · 2 Corinthians 5:17 · 2 Corinthians 5:7 · 2 Timothy 1:7 · 2 Timothy 3:16 · Acts 1:8 · Acts 4:12 · Colossians 3:2 · Colossians 3:23 · Deuteronomy 31:6 · Ecclesiastes 12:13 · Ecclesiastes 3:1 · Ecclesiastes 3:11 · Ephesians 2:10 · Ephesians 2:8–9 · Ephesians 3:20 · Ephesians 4:32 · Ephesians 6:10–11 · Exodus 14:14 · Galatians 2:20 · Galatians 5:22–23 · Galatians 6:9 · Genesis 1:1 · Hebrews 11:1 · Hebrews 12:1–2 · Hebrews 13:8 · Isaiah 26:3 · Isaiah 40:29 · Isaiah 40:31 · Isaiah 40:8 · Isaiah 41:10 · Isaiah 43:19 · Isaiah 43:2 · Isaiah 53:5 · Isaiah 54:17 · Isaiah 55:8–9 · Isaiah 9:6 · James 1:5 · Jeremiah 1:5 · Jeremiah 29:11 · Jeremiah 33:3 · John 1:1 · John 1:12 · John 10:10 · John 11:25–26 · John 13:34–35 · John 14:1 · John 14:27 · John 14:6 · John 15:13 · John 15:5 · John 16:33 · John 3:16 · John 3:17 · John 8:12 · Joshua 1:9 · Joshua 24:15 · Lamentations 3:22–23 · Lamentations 3:25 · Luke 1:37 · Luke 6:38 · Mark 11:24 · Mark 12:30–31 · Matthew 11:28–30 · Matthew 18:20 · Matthew 19:26 · Matthew 28:19–20 · Matthew 5:16 · Matthew 5:6 · Matthew 6:21 · Matthew 6:33 · Matthew 6:34 · Matthew 7:7 · Micah 6:8 · Numbers 6:24–26 · Philippians 1:6 · Philippians 4:13 · Philippians 4:19 · Philippians 4:6–7 · Philippians 4:8 · Proverbs 11:25 · Proverbs 15:1 · Proverbs 16:3 · Proverbs 16:9 · Proverbs 17:17 · Proverbs 18:10 · Proverbs 19:21 · Proverbs 22:6 · Proverbs 27:17 · Proverbs 3:5–6 · Proverbs 31:25 · Proverbs 31:30 · Proverbs 4:23 · Psalm 1:1–3 · Psalm 100:4 · Psalm 103:1–2 · Psalm 118:24 · Psalm 119:105 · Psalm 121:1–2 · Psalm 133:1 · Psalm 136:1 · Psalm 139:14 · Psalm 145:18 · Psalm 147:3 · Psalm 16:11 · Psalm 19:1 · Psalm 23:1 · Psalm 23:1 · Psalm 27:1 · Psalm 30:5 · Psalm 32:8 · Psalm 34:18 · Psalm 37:4 · Psalm 37:5 · Psalm 40:1–2 · Psalm 46:1 · Psalm 46:10 · Psalm 51:10 · Psalm 55:22 · Psalm 56:3 · Psalm 73:26 · Psalm 90:12 · Psalm 91:1–2 · Revelation 21:4 · Revelation 3:20 · Romans 10:9 · Romans 12:12 · Romans 12:2 · Romans 15:13 · Romans 3:23 · Romans 5:1 · Romans 5:8 · Romans 6:23 · Romans 8:1 · Romans 8:28 · Romans 8:31 · Romans 8:37 · Romans 8:38–39 · Titus 3:5 · Zephaniah 3:17