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OET (OET-LV) The one having_found the life of_him will_be_losing it, and the one having_lost the life of_him on_account me will_be_finding it.
OET (OET-RV) Anyone who has found their life will lose it, and anyone who loses their life because of following me, will find it.
In this section, Jesus gave various instructions to the twelve apostles. In 10:5–15, he gave them some practical instructions for preaching the good news. In 10:16–33, he described the opposition that they would see when they went out. Lastly, in 10:34–42, he described the commitment required to be a disciple and the reward for being a disciple.
You may want to break this long section into several shorter sections. Here is an example:
Section 10:5–15 | The things the apostles should/must do when sent |
Section 10:16–33 | The difficulties the apostles will face |
Section 10:34–42 | The cost and reward of following Jesus |
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Jesus gave directions/instructions to the twelve apostles for preaching the gospel
The Mission of the Twelve (GNT)
Instructions for the Twelve Apostles (CEV)
This verse is similar to Luke 9:24 and Luke 17:33. If you have already translated Luke, you may want to look there for ideas in translating this verse.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
The person who tries to guard/preserve his life will lose eternal life,
If you try to save/protect your life on earth, you will not receive life in heaven.
Whoever finds his life: The Greek word that the BSB literally translates as finds in this context means “tries to save” or “wants to protect/preserve.” It does not mean that something was lost and then found. This clause refers to someone who is not willing to suffer and die for Jesus (10:38). Instead, he wants to save/preserve his earthly life. He tries to escape persecution and being a martyr.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
The person who tries to preserve his life (GW)
If you try to save your life (CEV)
If you cling to your life (NLT)
The person who tries to protect/guard his life instead of following me
will lose it: The phrase lose it refers to losing true life, that is, life with God that lasts forever. The person will fail to experience that life either here on earth or in heaven after he dies. He will eventually lose his physical life because no one can live forever. He will also lose the opportunity to gain true life with God.
In some languages, a literal translation of lose may imply that a person misplaces something and is unable to find it. It may also imply that a person who already has eternal life will lose it. Be careful to avoid both these implications.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
will not get true life
will not receive eternal life
and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
but the person who loses his life because of me will get eternal life.”
But if you die because of your faith/belief in me, you will receive life in heaven.”
and: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between losing one’s life (10:39a) and finding it (10:39b). Some versions indicate this contrast with the conjunction “but.” For example:
but (GNT)
whoever loses his life for My sake will find it: This clause indicates that the person who is willing to suffer and die for Jesus will gain eternal life with God in heaven.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
but the person who loses his life for me will preserve it (GW)
but if you die because of me, you will get eternal life
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ὁ εὑρὼν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσει αὐτήν; καὶ ὁ ἀπολέσας τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήν
the_‹one› (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὁ εὑρών τήν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσει αὐτήν καί ὁ ἀπολέσας τήν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήν)
Jesus speaks of how people’s attitudes toward their current lives affects their eternal lives after they resurrect. He means that those having found their current lives will lose their eternal, resurrection lives, and that those having lost their current lives will find their eternal, resurrection lives. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [The one having found his current life will lose it forever, and the one having lost his current life for my sake will find it forever]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ὁ εὑρὼν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσει αὐτήν
the_‹one› (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὁ εὑρών τήν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσει αὐτήν καί ὁ ἀπολέσας τήν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήν)
Jesus speaks of trying to preserve one’s life as if it were finding it. He speaks of dying as if it were losing one’s life. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [The one having preserved his life will die]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
(Occurrence -1) αὐτοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὁ εὑρών τήν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσει αὐτήν καί ὁ ἀπολέσας τήν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήν)
Although the term his is masculine, Jesus is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [his or her … his or her]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ὁ ἀπολέσας τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήν
the_‹one› ˓having˒_lost (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὁ εὑρών τήν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσει αὐτήν καί ὁ ἀπολέσας τήν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήν)
Jesus speaks of dying or being willing to die as losing one’s life. He speaks of experiencing eternal life as if it were finding one’s life. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the one having died for my sake will have eternal life]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ
on_account me
When Jesus says for my sake, he means that some people will lose their lives because they are his disciples. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could make this idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [because he is my disciple] or [because he believes in me]
OET (OET-LV) The one having_found the life of_him will_be_losing it, and the one having_lost the life of_him on_account me will_be_finding it.
OET (OET-RV) Anyone who has found their life will lose it, and anyone who loses their life because of following me, will find it.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.