The Exegetical Anatomy of the Soul

Exegetical Psychology

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Understanding the “soul” as described in the New Testament will help us glorify God by changing the way we live. Many people think that the soul and the spirit are the same thing. God used different words to describe them. Now we will go through the New Testament usage of the term soul verse by verse. For quick reference you can see the chart below in Appendix A.

 

Section One

The Soul in You

1.1 Adam and His Soul. In Genesis 2:7, we read that Yahweh Elohim formed the man from dust of the ground and blew into his nose the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  1The Hebrew text reads: וַיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה.” Yahweh Elohim blew (“יִּפַּ֥ח“) into the nose of Adam and he became a living soul (“לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה“). Notice the Lamedh indicating a change happened in the man–he became a living soul.  For the sake of time, I will not go further in discussing the rich Old Testament background of the soul. Because one author, God, wrote the entire Bible (sixty-six inspired books, Old Testament, New Testament), the term soul in the Old Testament will not differ from the New Testament. In the New Testament, however, saints changed greatly with the Holy Spirit taking up residence in believers, giving spiritual gifts, and transforming people into new creatures never seen before among humans. The Old Testament saints were certainly partakers of the nature of God, but these changed with the New Ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Earthly Ministry of Jesus culminating in His death, resurrection and ascension.

•     God created man by placing a living soul in him.

•     With a single breath from God, the God-formed body became a living soul.

•    God created and made alive the soul.

•     With the entry of the soul, man came to life

•     God created the physical body of man before He gave it life with the soul.

 

1.2 Children Have Souls. The story of Mary and Joseph fleeing to Egypt shows that children, including the baby Jesus, have souls (Matthew 2:20).

  •   Children have souls.

•    Jesus has a soul.

•   People may seek to kill the soul.

 

Section Two

Body and Soul

2.1 Concern for Soul. Jesus commanded people not to be concerned about their souls (Matthew 6:25). Notice that the concern by part of you is about the soul, another part of you. Concern can be separate from soul. Notice also that concern about bodily functions of eating and drinking. Jesus said that the soul is more than food. Likewise, the body is more than clothing. In this case, the body and the soul have some relationship. Some part of us has concern about eating, drinking and clothing.

 •    People may have concern about their souls.

•     People may worry about their souls having enough to eat and drink. 

•     The soul has a relationship with the body.

•     The soul is more than food.

•    The body may be concerned about clothing, but the soul concerns itself with food.

 

2.2 Goods. People talk to their souls. In some cases, they tell their souls that they have many goods laid up for many years. They command their souls to relax, eat, drink and be merry (Luke 12:19). Jesus taught that material prosperity may slip away at any moment, and should never be a source of comfort and contentment for the soul. God will always be the source of comfort and contentment for the soul. Fools do not understand that their soul may be required of them at any time. Souls do not keep material possessions after death (Luke 12:20).

People talk to their souls.

People command their souls.

Souls can have many goods laid up for years.

Souls can be commanded to relax, eat, drink and be merry.

God may demand your soul at any moment.

After death, souls do not keep goods laid up on earth.

When people trust in goods and command their souls to relax, eat, drink and be merry, they act like fools because God may require their soul tonight.

 

2.3 Soulal Bodies. Paul revealed two types of bodies: the soulal body and the spiritual body. He revealed how the first body is sown soulal and then later raised spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:44). I am using the term “soulal” to be the counterpart to “spiritual.” 2Paul wrote: πείρεται σῶμα ψυχικόν, ἐγείρεται σῶμα πνευματικόν (1 Corinthians 15:44). Paul helped understand the soul as he compared the soulal body with the spiritual body. We were sown as a soulal body, and we will be raised a spiritual body. Paul explained that given there is a soulal body, we will also have a spiritual body. Paul elaborated: “Adam became a living soul.”   3Paul wrote: “Ἐγένετο ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος Ἀδὰμ εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν More literally, the first man, Adam, became a living soul. In this context, strictly speaking, the body of Adam was created first, and then he became a living soul. Paul emphasizes that order of creation here.  In contrast, the last Adam became a spirit life-making. The only other use of this exact form occurs in John 6:63: The spirit is the life-maker; the flesh profits nothing. The words Jesus spoke are spirit and life. As believers we believe the words Jesus has spoken are spirit and life. 4Jesus said: τὰ ῥήματα   ἐγὼ λελάληκα ὑμῖν πνεῦμά ἐστιν καὶ ζωή ἐστιν“. This verse contains the only other use of the term “ζῳοποιοῦν.” Jesus described the words he has spoken as spirit and life-making. The spirit is life making; the flesh profits nothing. John revealed that the works spoken by Jesus are spirit and life-making. Jesus did not describe those words as spiritual, but as spirit.

The first Adam became a living soul.

Jesus, the Last Adam, became a life-making spirit.

Spirit and soul are not the same thing.

The soulal body precedes the spiritual body.

The soul makes the body alive.

Salvation means that one day every saint will be resurrected to a spiritual body.

 

2.4 God as Witness to the SoulPaul called upon God as his witness concerning his motives. Paul did not return to Corinth so that he would spare their souls (2 Corinthians 1:23). 

Paul called God as a witness to His motives.

Paul intended to spare the souls of the Corinthians.

Souls may be spared the souls of Corinthians.

Paul spared the Corinthians which his visit would have brought upon their souls.

People may cause the souls of saints to experience sorrow.

People may choose to spare the souls of saints sorrow.

 

2.5 Spirit, Soul, Body. Paul prayed that God would sanctify the Thessalonians saints. He prayed that God would keep their spirit, soul and body blameless in the appearing of the Lord our Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

God sanctifies saints.

God sanctifies spirits.

God sanctifies souls.

God sanctifies bodies.

God keeps whole spirits, souls and bodies.

God keeps whole spirits, souls and bodies blameless at the appearing of the Lord, our Jesus Christ.

 

2.6 The Living Word of GodThe living word of God penetrates as far as the division of soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). 5The Greek term for “division” (“μερισμοῦ”) means different parts of a whole. See Mark 3:24 where a kingdom divided (“μερισθῇ”) against itself cannot stand and Luke 12:13 where a person calls upon Jesus to tell his brother to divide (“μερίσασθαι”) the inheritance with him. In this case, we know that spirit and soul exist separately, and a division always exists between them. They are not the same and should never be equated.

 

People have a soul.

People have a spirit.

The soul and spirit have a division between them.

The living word of God penetrates people.

The living word penetrates as far as the division between soul and spirit.

 

Section Three

God and Souls

3.1 Losing Souls and Finding Souls. He who finds his soul will destroy it, and he who destroys his soul for My sake will find it (Matthew 10:39). 6While I appreciate the interplay between finding a soul and losing a soul, I like the translation better of finding a soul and destroying a soul because the same word is used to describe the evil vine-growers whom Christ destroys when he returns (Matthew 21:41; Luke 20:16; Mark 12:9). The word destruction describes suffering in the Afterlife–See Section Four in my E-Book on Afterlife. People find (a) the kingdom of God hidden as a treasure in the field (Matthew 13:44); (b) the pearl of great price (Matthew  13:56), (c) the sheep carried on the shoulders (Luke 15:5). Jesus found the Man Born Blind (John 9:35) and a young donkey (John 12:14). Finding means eternal life, as compared to eternal destruction. People may exercise control over their souls.

•  People may search for their souls.

•  People may find their souls.

•  When People  search and find their souls, they destroy their souls

•  People may destroy their souls for the sake of Jesus.

•  People who destroy their souls for the sake of Jesus find their souls.

 

3.2 Rest for Souls. Jesus promised rest for every soul that takes His yoke upon him. Notice here that Jesus described Himself as humble in heart, not humble in soul. 

•   Souls need rest which only Jesus provides.

•   Jesus provides rest for our souls when we take His yoke upon us and we learn from Him.

 

3.3 Pleasure with Jesus. The soul of God takes pleasure in His servant, Jesus. 7Matthew quoted from the Servant Songs of Isaiah regarding Messiah, the Suffering Servant of God (Isaiah 42:1).

• God has a soul.

• God’s soul feels pleasure.

• God’s soul found pleasure in His Servant Jesus.

 

3.4 Exalt GodMary also said that her soul exalted the Lord when she visited Elizabeth (Luke 1:45). 8The root of the idea of “exalt” (“Μεγαλύνει“) means to enlarge, and so conveys exalt (Matthew 23:5 of tassels). Paul also wrote that Christ is exalted in his body whether through life or through death (“ἐν τῷ σώματί μου, εἴτε διὰ ζωῆς εἴτε διὰ θανάτου“). Compare also that a sword pierced the soul of Mary, that thought may be revealed out of many hearts (Luke 2:35).

Souls exalt.

Souls exalt God.

Mary’s soul exalted God.

 

3.5 Souls Taken UpSouls may be taken up with suspense. The Jews asked Jesus to tell them openly that He was the Christ because Jesus had taken up their souls (John 10:24). 9The Greek phrase was “Εως πότε τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις;

Souls may be taken up with suspense.

Souls want to know things.

 

3.6 Troubled SoulJesus spoke to His disciples about His troubled soul (John 12:27). 10John described the trouble this ways: “Νῦν ἡ ψυχή μου τετάρακται”–notice the perfect tense of the verb indicating a continuing condition of trouble.   The coming hour of His crucifixion caused the trouble. At the same time, Jesus knew that He came to that hour to offer His soul a ransom for many. He would not ask His Father to save Him from that hour. Jesus then prayed that He would glorify the name of the Father. Then a voice from heaven said: “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again” (John 12:28).

Jesus had a troubled soul.

Looking forward to the hour of torture and death troubled His soul.

A troubled soul may be sinless.

Jesus controlled His troubled soul and did not ask for the hour to be removed.

Jesus spoke of His troubled soul with His disciples Andrew and Philip.

Jesus spoke of His commitment to following His Father’s plan even when His soul was troubled.

Troubled souls may glorify God.

God speaks to troubled souls who pray to Him with clean hearts.

 

3.7 Bless. Bless the LORD, O my soul (Psalm 104:35).

3.8 Praise. Let my soul live, that it may praise You (Psalm 119:175)

 

Section Four

Sin and Souls

4.1 Sin and Death.  All souls belong to God; the soul of the father and the soul of the son belong to God. The soul who sins will die (Ezekiel 18:4). 

 

4.2 Souls Sin. (Micah 6:7).

 

Section Five

Conviction and Souls

5.1 Souls Convicted. The LORD came to convict all souls concerning all their ungodly works (Jude 1:15). 

Souls may do unGodly works.

Souls may be convicted. 

God may convict souls.

God may convict souls of unGodly works.

 

Section Six

The Gospel and Souls

6.1 Ransom. The Son of Man came to give His soul as the ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). 11Some translators equate soul with life and employ that error in theology into their translations. The Greek term for “the soul” (“τὴν ψυχὴν“) has a special meaning throughout the Bible and should not be viewed merely as the “immaterial” part of man, subsuming soul, spirit, and other things under the single heading of “life” or some other general rubric. God inspired the words of the Bible and should be viewed with special care when God used different words such as soul and life and spirit and heart and will. Jesus did not come to be served.

Jesus has a soul.

Jesus came to give His soul.

Souls may be given for someone else.

Souls may be given as ransom for other people.

The soul of Jesus was required for atonement.

The soul of Jesus was required for salvation.

Jesus gave His soul as a ransom for many people.

 

6.2 Saving Souls. Religious people were watching people to see if He would heal in the synagogue on the Sabbath (Mark 3:4). After calling a man with a withered hand to Him, Jesus asked the audience if it were lawful on the Sabbath to save souls or to kill? 12Translators display their bias by equating the terms life and soul. In this verse, Jesus used the term “soul” (“ψυχὴν“), not life, as the object of to save (“σῶσαι“) or to kill (“ἀποκτεῖναι“). Jesus saved the soul on the Sabbath, and did good.

Jesus saves souls.

If Jesus does not save your soul, you will be killed.

 

6.3 Three Thousand Souls in One dayAt Pentecost people received the word of God and were baptized. In that day, about three thousand souls were added to the church (Acts 2:41). 

Some people hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ receive it.

Souls receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ are added to the church immediately.

Souls are saved by receiving the word.

Souls comprise the church.

Three thousand souls were added in one day.

 

6.4 Imparting the Soul. Paul revealed that he and the ministry team at Thessalonica not only imparted the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but also their very souls to the Thessalonians, because the Thessalonians had become beloved by Paul and the ministry team (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

People may impart their souls.

People may impart the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

People may impart their souls to the people they long for and love.

People may impart both the Gospel of Jesus Christ and their souls to people they long for and love.

 

Section Seven

Salvation and Souls

7.1 Ransom. The Son of Man came to give His soul as the ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). 13Some translators equate soul with life and employ that error in theology into their translations. The Greek term for “the soul” (“τὴν ψυχὴν“) has a special meaning throughout the Bible and should not be viewed merely as the “immaterial” part of man, subsuming soul, spirit, and other things under the single heading of “life” or some other general rubric. God inspired the words of the Bible and should be viewed with special care when God used different words such as soul and life and spirit and heart and will. Jesus did not come to be served.Unchanged:

Jesus has a soul.

Jesus came to give His soul.

Souls may be given for someone else.

Souls may be given as ransom for other people.

The soul of Jesus was required for atonement.

The soul of Jesus was required for salvation.

Jesus gave His soul as a ransom for many people.

 

7.2 Souls Redeemed. Souls may be redeemed, but it costly (Psalm 49:8).

 

7.3 God Redeems. God redeems the soul from the power of Sheol (Psalm 49:10). 

 

7.4 Saving Souls. Religious people were watching people to see if He would heal in the synagogue on the Sabbath (Mark 3:4). After calling a man with a withered hand to Him, Jesus asked the audience if it were lawful on the Sabbath to save souls or to kill? 14Translators display their bias by equating the terms life and soul. In this verse, Jesus used the term “soul” (“ψυχὴν”), not life, as the object of to save (“σῶσαι”) or to kill (“ἀποκτεῖναι”). Jesus saved the soul on the Sabbath and did good.

Jesus saves souls.

If Jesus does not save your soul, you will be killed.

 

7.5 The Implanted Word. Saints must put aside all filthiness and the which remains of wickedness, in humility receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls (James 1:21). 15James wrote: τὸν δυνάμενον σῶσαι τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν.”

The word may be implanted in people.

The implanted has the power to save the souls of people.

 

7.6 The End of Faith. Saints receive the outcome of their faith, the salvation of souls (1 Peter 1:9). 16The Greek participle  “κομιζόμενοι” has other uses of the root word indicating it may mean to receive back or be paid back  as in Ephesians 6:8; Colossians 4:25), but that meaning tends to undermine grace in this context which talks about faith without seeing Jesus.

Souls may obtain salvation.

The outcome of faith is salvation of souls.

 

7.7 Hear the Prophet. Shortly after Pentecost, Peter preached a second sermon about Jesus Messiah. Peter alluded to the Old Testament prophecy about Jesus the Prophet coming and every soul must heed 17Peter used the Greek term ” ἀκούσῃ for heed.  that prophet or be destroyed from among the people. 18Peter used the word “will be ruined” (“ἐξολεθρευθήσεται”). Compare the related word  ὄλεθρον to describe Satan destroying the body, but the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:5); and the penalty of eternal ruin  (“ὄλεθρον αἰώνιον“) (2 Thessalonians 1:9); and the ruin of destruction (“εἰς ὄλεθρον καὶ ἀπώλειαν“) (1 Timothy 6:9); and destruction (” ὄλεθρος “) coming upon people after they heard “Peace and safety!” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:3).  Translating ὄλεθρον as destruction causes problems in distinguishing it from ἀπώλειαν used repeatedly to describe destruction of the soul in the Afterlife. Verbal correspondence of terms for English readers must be considered to communicate the verbal inspiration of Scripture.  I repeatedly fail to apply that principle in my work, but I am growing far more sensitive to verbal correspondence. The ὄλεθρον appears to relate to bodily ruin and ἀπώλειαν certainly relates to soul destruction. Further study would be required here and for many other terms in this study. Peter’s use of the related term for ruin may mean the person not heeding Jesus will die bodily, and so be removed from the living congregation of Israel.

People must listen to Jesus the Prophet and heed His words.

Souls may be ruined for not heeding.

Every soul must heed Jesus the Prophet or be ruined.

 

7.8 Gain and ForfeitJesus spoke about gaining the world. 19The Greek term for “gain” (“κερδήσῃ“) means to acquire, in this case through human effort or success. This third class condition speaks to a probable event; wide is the path to destruction and many people enter there. The Greek term for “forfeit” (“ζημιωθῇ“) occurs in the subjunctive mood, indicating the certain outcome of gaining the world and losing eternity. Paul used a similar term in describing the loss of cargo on a ship during a storm (Acts 27:10). Gaining the entire world profits nothing if you forfeit your soul. Jesus implied that you have nothing to exchange your soul once forfeited (Matthew 16:26). Only Jesus can redeem your soul after you forfeit it.

 

People may gain the entire world and forfeit their souls.

People may have nothing to give in exchange for their souls.

 

7.9 Endurance and Gain. Jesus commanded saints to gain their souls through endurance. 20Jesus put it this way in Greek: ἐν τῇ ὑπομονῇ ὑμῶν κτήσασθε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν. The term “gain” (“κτήσασθε“) in this context means to acquire. The same term for gain was used in Matthew 10:19 where Jesus commissioned the twelve and directed them not to “gain” gold, silver or copper for their money belts. Jesus emphasized that parents, brothers, relatives and friends will betray saints already facing intense persecution for their faith in Jesus. Everyone will hate the saints. As the saints endure, then they gain their souls. Remember that destroying your soul for the sake of Jesus and His Gospel means you find your soul.

Souls may be persecuted.

People gain their souls while they endure persecution for the sake of Jesus.  

Souls may remain sinless during persecution.

 

 

Section Eight

Turning Souls

8. 1 Turns a Sinner. Saints who turn a sinner out of his evil way saves his soul out of death and covers a multitude of sins (James 5:20–see Ezekiel 3:20).  21James described it this way:  ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ σώσει ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου“.

Sinners have souls.

Souls may be saved out of death.

 

Section Nine

Blessing and Souls

9.1 Blessing Souls. Genesis 27:4 Isaac wanted to bless his son before he died. He actually blessed Jacob through deception (Genesis 27:19).

 

Section Ten

Life and Souls

10.1 Your Life and Your Soul. Uriah said that by the life of David and the soul of David, Uriah would not go to see his wife (2 Samuel 11:11).

 

 

Section Eleven

Love and Souls

11.1 Love GodGod commands us to love Him in all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind (Matthew 22:37). 22God used three distinct Greek terms there: the heart (“τῇ καρδίᾳ“), soul (“τῇ ψυχῇ“) and mind (“τῇ διανοίᾳ“). I prefer the translation in your heart, in your mind, and in your heart to capture the preposition ἐν with the dative case.  Just as worry may be in the soul (Luke 12:22), so also love is in the soul and comes from the soul, as well as the heart and the mind. Apparently your heart, soul and mind all have love to give and love is not confined to only one of them. Therefore, because God distinguished heart, soul, and mind, we must do likewise. We must avoid any temptation to equate hear with soul or soul with mind or any combination of the three. In that passage, God commanded us to love with our soul. Compare also Mark 12:30 where we must also love God with all our strength.

People have hearts.

People have souls.

People have minds.

God commands people to love Him with all their heart, soul and mind.

Souls must love God.

Love from the soul may be all or some.

God commands us to love Him with all our soul.

Hearts may love God.

Minds may love God.

Your soul, mind and heart are not the same thing.

Your heart, mind and soul all must love God.

All your heart, mind and soul must love God.

Love for God must never be compromised or partial in your heart, soul and mind.

 

11.2 Souls Love God. God commanded people to love Him with all their heart and with all their souls (Deturonomy 11:13;13:3;).

Paul said he will spend and will be spent for the souls of the Corinthians.

People can purposefully be spent for Souls of other people. 

People can purposefully spend their souls for other people.

Souls were a focus of Paul’s ministry.

Paul will spend and be spent for the souls of the Corinthians with gladness.

People may spend themselves with gladness for the souls of others.

People who spend themselves gladly for the souls of others may be loved less by the others.

 

11.3 The Good Shepherd. Jesus said He was the Good Shepherd who laid down His soul for the sheep (John 10:11, 15). When the hired hand fled, Jesus stayed to guard the sheep. The Father loves Jesus because Jesus laid down His soul, so that He may take it again. 23John used the Greek phrase: ἐγὼ τίθημι τὴν ψυχήν μου, ἵνα πάλιν λάβω αὐτήν. Jesus emphasized that He laid down His life and no one took it from Him (John 10:18). 

Souls may be laid down for others.

Jesus laid down His soul for the saints.

Jesus took up His soul after laying it down.

The Father loves Jesus for laying down His soul for the saints.

Souls may be taken up again by the power of God.

 

11.4 Jesus and LoveJesus linked laying down your soul with love for your friends (John 15:3). He said no one has greater love than laying down your soul for your friends.

People may lay down their souls for their friends.

Jesus linked laying down your soul with love for your friends.

No one has greater love for their friends than laying down your soul for your friends.

 

11.5 Peter and His SoulJesus said He was leaving and Peter could not follow Him immediately. Peter then responded that he would lay down his soul for Jesus. Jesus then asked Peter: “Will you lay down your soul for me?” Jesus went on to say that Peter would actually deny him three times that night, but do not let you heart be afraid. Believe in God, believe also in Me.(John 13:37-14:1). 

People may say great things about laying down their soul for another person.

Peter reminds us that we may say one thing about our souls, and then do another thing under pressure.

Jesus linked denying Him to the heart, and said the heart should not be afraid, even before or after denying Jesus. 

People may lay down their lives for Jesus, but they may also deny Him under pressure.

 

11.6 Laid Down His Soul. Saints know love because Jesus laid down His soul for us, and so we ought to lay down our souls for the brethren (1 John 3:16). 

Souls can be laid down for others.

Jesus laid down His soul for us.

We should lay down our souls for the brethren.

 

Section Twelve

Heart and Souls

12.1 God’s Heart and Soul. God has both a heart and a soul (1 Samuel 2:35).

 

Section Thirteen

Souls Given Over

13.1 Souls Given Over. People recognized that Paul and Barnabas gave over their souls for the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 15:26–compare Matthew 10:39). 24The phrase “risked their lives” completely misses the point. Luke described Paul and Barnabas as men “who gave over their souls” (“παραδεδωκόσι τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν” followed by ” ὑπὲρ “). Again, the word for soul should never be confused with the term “life.” Luke did not talk about risk, but about giving the soul to the Lord Jesus (see Pilate handing over “παραδεδώκεισαν” Jesus to the Jews (Mark 15:10); and the devil offering to hand over (“παραδέδοται “) the world (Luke 4:6). They gave their souls to the Lord Jesus Who then directed their lives.

People may hand over their souls.

Paul and Barnabas handed over their souls to the Lord Jesus.

 

 

Section Fourteen

Souls Risked

14.1 Risking the Soul. Epaphroditus became dear to Paul as they labored together for Christ. Paul revealed that Epaphroditus came near to death, risking his soul, that he might complete the service of the Philippians to Paul (Philippians 2:30). 

Souls deliberately may be put at risk of death.

Souls may draw near to death for the work of Christ.

People may notice when you risk your soul to serve other people.

God may call upon you to risk your soul for the work of Christ.

 

 

Section Fifteen

Spent Souls

15.1 Spent for Souls. Just as Jesus sacrificed His soul as a ransom for many, so also Paul said he will spend and will be spent for  the souls of the Corinthians. 25In Acts 21.24, Paul was directed to pay the expenses (“δαπάνησον”) for men under a vow. Same root word used of paying for the soul of the Corinthians. The concepts of spending and being spent reflect the love and devotion Paul felt for the Corinthians.  Consider Jesus talking about destroying your soul and you will find it.

 

Section Sixteen

Unity and Souls

16.1 One in Heart and SoulIn the early church, the multitudes believing in Jesus were one in heart and soul (Acts 4:32).

People may be one in heart.

People may be one in soul.

Multitudes of believers may be one in heart and soul.

Heart and soul are not the same thing.

 

16.2 Relatives in Souls. Joseph invited his father Jacob and all relative in souls (about seventy-five people) to come to him in Egypt. 26Luke used the phrase “the relative in souls” (“τὴν συγγένειαν ἐνψυχαῖς“).

People may be relative in souls.

Joseph had relative in soul seventy-five people.

Some of those relative in souls people once threw Joseph into a pit and sold him into slavery.

People relative in souls may do some very evil things.

People may forgive their  relative in souls.

 

16.3 Striving in One Soul. Not only may people be standing fast in one spirit, but they may also be striving together in one soul in faith of the Gospel (Philippians 1:27).

People may stand fast in one spirit.

People may strive together in one soul.

People may strive together in one soul in faith of the Gospel.

 

16.4 United Souls. Paul described Christian unity: souls thinking the same, having the same love, united souls, one in thinking. 27Paul put it this way: “πληρώσατέ μου τὴν χαρὰν ἵνα τὸ αὐτὸ φρονῆτε, τὴν αὐτὴν ἀγάπην ἔχοντες, σύμψυχοι, τὸ ἓν φρονοῦντες“. Paul actually commanded them to make his joy full. Regarding thinking, Paul may have also meant to think the one thing.

Paul commanded souls to think the same.

Paul commanded souls to have the same love.

Paul commanded souls to be united.

Paul commanded souls to think the same.

 

16.5 Souls Knit. The souls of Jonathan and David were knit together (1 Samuel 18:1).

 

 

Section Seventeen

Wisdom and Souls

17.1 Soulish WisdomJames contrasted the gentleness of wisdom which comes down from above, with the earthly, soulish, and demonic wisdom (James 3:15).  28James the wisdom not from above as “ἐπίγειος, ψυχική, δαιμονιώδης”.

The wisdom not from above is soulish.

Soulish wisdom opposes the wisdom of God.

Soulish wisdom is earthly, and demonic.

 

Section Eighteen

Hope and Souls

18.1 Anchor of the Soul. The hope of saints provides an anchor for the soul, safe and steadfast and enters inside the veil, where Jesus entered  (Hebrews 6:19).

Souls hope.

Hope provides anchor for the soul.

The anchor of hope holds the soul safe and steadfast inside the veil, where Jesus entered.

 

Section Nineteen

Fear and Souls

19.1 Fear in Souls. After receiving the word at Pentecost, all the souls of the saints had fear come into being in those souls. They witnessed many signs and wonders come into being through the apostles.

Souls may fear.

Souls may fear after salvation.

Fear comes into being in the souls of people after salvation.

 

19.2 Loss of Soul. Nearing shipwreck, Paul told the people on the ship that they should take courage, because not one soul would be lost (Acts 27:22). 29Luke used the phrase “ἀποβολὴ γὰρ ψυχῆς οὐδεμία ἔσται ἐξ ὑμῶν. The ship had two-hundred seventy souls on board (Acts 27:37); they would be saved, but the ship lost.

Souls may be lost.

Souls may be lost by dying during a shipwreck.

Paul encourage people by letting them know their souls would not be lost during shipwreck.

Luke referred to people facing death in a storm-tossed ship as souls.

 

Section Twenty

Grief and Souls

20.1 Jesus’ Soul Grieved. In the Garden of Gethsemane, on the night of His arrest and the day before His crucifixion and death, Jesus grieved deeply in His soul (Matthew 26:38). 30Matthew used the Greek term “grieved deeply” (“Περίλυπός“) ; Greek has a nice phrase for “deeply grieved” (“ἐλυπήθησαν σφόδρα“–Matthew 17:23). Περίλυπός also appears in Mark 6:26 to describe Herod’s sorrow over having to behead John the Baptist and in Luke 18:23 to describe the rich ruler after Jesus told him to sell everything so that he may inherit eternal life. Therefore, in Matthew 17:23, we see the additional phrase of deeply grieved until death (“ἕως θανάτου”–this preposition generally speaks of time; so Jesus was grieved until the time of His death, not as a description of how badly He grieved at the moment; after death, glory and rejoicing). This grief lasted until His death. Because commanded us to be anxious for nothing, we know that all anxiety amounts to sin ( Philippians 4:6).

Souls can deeply grieve.

Souls can deeply grieve without sin.

All anxiety is sinful. 

Souls can deeply grieve without anxiety.

Souls can deeply grieve over impending death.

Jesus grieved deeply in His soul the night before His crucifixion and death.

Jesus shared the deep grief in His soul with others and requested prayer.

 

20.2 Souls Spared Grief. God told Eli that He would not kill every man of his household so that Eli’s soul would not grieve (1 Samuel 2:23).

 

20.3 Wasting Grief. Eyes, souls and bodies may waste away from grief (Psalm 31:9). 

 

 

Section Twenty One

Discouragement and Souls

21.1 Discouraged SoulsPeople enduring hostility must consider the example of Jesus, Who enduring the hostility of sinner against Himself. As saints consider Jesus suffering hostility, we do not give up, because our souls have been discouraged (Hebrews 12:3). 31The Greek text reads: “ἵνα μὴ κάμητε ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν ἐκλυόμενοι.” This common “ἵνα ” clause with a negative means that we avoid this result. In this case, the result is that our souls are not discouraged (“κάμητε”–aorist subjunctive with the “μὴ“) and we do not give up (“ἐκλυόμενοι”). Verbal correspondence also plays a role here. To translate give up as the colloquial “lose heart” introduces the term heart into a passage where it does not exist. Translators must be conscious not to bring terms, such as “heart” which has very particular meaning, into the discussion of souls not giving up. Furthermore, when translators translate the phrase “ἵνα μὴ ἀθυμῶσιν–similar negative clause” as “that they will not lose heart,” they introduce the term “heart” into a passage that does not contain that term (Colossians 3:21).  The problem also appears in Ephesians 3:13 with “μὴ ἐγκακεῖν” translated as “not to lose heart” ; and Galatians 6:9 with “μὴ ἐγκακῶμεν” translated as “not lose heart”; and 2 Corinthians 4:1, 16 with “οὐκ ἐγκακοῦμεν” not lose heart. 

 

 

Section Twenty Two

Hatred and Souls

22.1 Hate. Jesus taught people that they must hate their father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters and their own souls, if they were to follow Him (Luke 14;26). Jesus meant that we must have an absolute love for Him, and by comparison, we hate everyone else, including our own souls. Remember that as we destroy our souls for the sake of Jesus and His Gospel, we find our souls.

Following Jesus means you hate your father, mother, children, brothers, sisters, and your own soul.

You can hate your soul and not sin.

 

22.2 Souls Abhor the Ordinances of God. Some souls abhor the ordinances of God (Leviticus 26:15). Likewise, the soul of God may abhor people who fall into idolatry (Leviticus 26:30). 32The verbs were “תִּגְעַ֣ל” and “וְגָעֲלָ֥ה” respectively.

 

 

Section Twenty Three

Upset Souls

23.3 Souls UpsetSome people came to believers in Antioch and disturbed believers there with words, upsetting the the souls of the believers. 33Luke used the Greek phrase: “ἐτάραξαν ὑμᾶς λόγοις ἀνασκευάζοντες τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν” (Acts 15:24).

Souls may be upset.

Words can upset the souls of believers.

 

Section Twenty Four

Stirred Up and Mistreated Souls

24.1 Souls Stirred Up and Mistreated. Certain disbelieving Jews stirred up and mistreated the souls of the Gentiles against the brethren (Acts 14:2). 34The Greek phrase was “ἐπήγειραν καὶ ἐκάκωσαν τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἐθνῶν κατὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν.” New Testament Greek has a nice word for embittered which is “πικραίνεσθε” (Colossians 3:19; see also Revelation 10:9 about honey and bitterness.) A very similar term “ἐκάκωσαν” occurred in Acts 7:19 where Luke said that Pharaoh mistreated our fathers so that  they would expose their infants.  The term “embittered” does not capture the actual acts involved with the word “ἐκάκωσαν.” So, verbal correspondence makes a big difference, again.

Souls may be stirred up.

Souls may be embittered.

People may stir up the souls of other people.

People may cause the souls of other people to be embittered.

Unbelievers may stir up souls and embitter souls against others.

 

Section Twenty Five

Annoyed Souls

25.1 Soul Annoyed. Delilah annoyed daily the soul of Samson (Judges 16:16).

 

 

Section Twenty Six

Delighted Souls

26.1  Delighted Souls. God consolations delight the soul, when anxious thoughts multiply inside me (Psalm 94:19).

 

 

Section Twenty Seven

Composed and Quieted Souls

27.1 Composed and Quieted Souls. Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me (Psalm 131:2). 

 

27.2 Souls Tremble. (Isaiah 15:4).

 

 

Section Twenty Eight

Bowed Down Souls

28.1 Souls Remember and Bow Down. Jeremiah described his soul as bowed down when he remembered his afflictions and wanderings, bitterness and wormwood (Lamentations 3:19-20). 

 

 

Section Twenty Nine

Longing Souls

29.1 Longing of Soul. Babylon longed for the fruit of the soul, but it left (Revelation 18:14).

Souls can long for things.

 

Section Thirty

Prosperity and Souls

30.1 Souls Prosper. John said that  a soul prospers (3 John 1:2). 35John used the phrase “αθὼς εὐοδοῦταί σου  ψυχή“.

Souls may prosper.

 

Section Thirty One

Strengthened Souls

31.1 Souls Strengthened. Barnabas and Paul preached the Gospel in various places, and then returned “strengthening the souls” of the disciples, encouraging them to remain in the faith, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). 36Luke used the phrase “ἐπιστηρίζοντες τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν μαθητῶν“. 

Souls may be strengthened.

Souls may be encouraged.

Souls may undergo tribulation.

Reminding disciples that they must pass through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God will strengthen their souls.

Souls may be strengthened  and encouraged in the faith as they pass through tribulations.

 

 

Section Thirty Two

Purified Souls

32.1 Purify Souls. Peter revealed that obedience to the truth in a sincere brotherly love purifies the soul (1 Peter 1:22).

Souls may be purified.

Our obedience purifies our souls.

Obedience to the truth purifies souls.

Sincere brotherly love out of the heart purifies souls.

Fervent love for the brethren purifies our souls.

 

 

Section Thirty Three

Leaders and Souls

33.1 The Shepherd and Overseer of the SoulsPeter descried saints as sheep once straying, but now have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of souls (1 Peter 2:11).

Souls stray like sheep.

Souls have a Shepherd and Overseer.

Souls return to the Shepherd and Overseer of Souls.

Jesus is the Shepherd and Overseer of souls.

 

33.2 Subjection of Souls. Paul commanded that every soul must be in subjection to the governing authorities, for God established all governments (Romans 13:1). 37Paul wrote that “every soul” (“Πᾶσα ψυχὴ“) must “be in subjection” (“ὑποτασσέσθω“) to the authorities (“ἐξουσίαις”).  

All souls may live in subjection.

All souls must in subjection to authorities.

Saints must keep their souls in subjection to authorities.

 

33.3. Attending to Souls. Leaders have attend to the souls of saints as ones who render an account (Hebrews 13:17).  38God ordered: Obey your leaders The souls of saints obey their leaders and  accept authority (“Πείθεσθε τοῖς ἡγουμένοις ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπείκετε“), for they attend to your souls as ones who render an account (“αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀγρυπνοῦσιν ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ὡς λόγον ἀποδώσοντες”).

Souls of saints are attended to by leaders.

Leaders must give an account for the service as soul attendants.

 

 

Section Thirty Four

Work and Souls

34.1 Souls Work. Paul commanded believers in all that they do, work as to the Lord and not to men (Colossians 3:3).

Believers work.

Souls may work.

Some work may not be from the soul.

God commands believers to work from the soul, as to the Lord, and not to men.

All work must be done out of the soul.

 

34.2 Work out of Soul. Servants must serve their masters not according to eyeservice, or men-pleasing, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God out of soul. 39Paul used the term “soul” (“ψυχῆς“) referring to soul and not the heart. Verbal correspondence requires the translation using the word soul; using the term heart means the translator has equated heart and soul and substituted his opinion for God’s word. Furthermore, if a translator believes heart and soul refer to the same thing, when why not leave the word soul in the translation?

God has a will.

God has a will for slaves of Christ.

God wills that slaves work from the soul.

Soul work means you do not aim to please men or work with eyeservice, but you do the will of God as the slave of Christ.

Section Thirty Five

Tribulation and Distressed Souls

35.1 No Value Souls. Paul considered his soul to be of no value (“οὐδενὸς λόγου ποιοῦμαι τὴν ψυχὴν τιμίαν ἐμαυτῷ “) as he considered that bonds and afflictions awaited him in Jerusalem. Instead, Paul intended to finish the course and the ministry he received from the Lord Jesus to testify solemnly of the Gospel of the Grace of God (Acts 20:23-24). 

People may consider their souls of no value as they pursue the ministry Jesus gave to them.

Paul considered his soul of no value as considered bonds and afflictions awaiting him as he pursued the ministry of the Gospel of the Grace of God.

People may choose ministry which destroys their souls.

 

35.2 Souls undergoing Tribulation and DistressTribulation and distress come upon every soul of man doing evil, to the Jew first and then the Gentile. [Luke used the terms “θλῖψις” and “στενοχωρία”.]]

Souls may do evil.

Tribulation and distress come upon souls doing evil.

Jews first, then Gentiles, doing evil experience tribulation and distress in their souls.

 

 

Section Thirty Six

Attacks upon the Soul

36.1 Attack upon the Soul of Jesus. Herod and his men tried to kill Jesus. They specifically targeted His soul (Matthew 2:20).

•   People may target a soul and kill the body.

•  No One but God can destroy body and soul in Hell.

 

36.2 War against the SoulPeter beseeched the saints as aliens and strangers to avoid lusts of the flesh which wage ware against the soul (1 Peter 2:11).

Internal wars affect the soul.

Lusts of the flesh wage war against the soul.

Avoiding fleshly lusts avoids that ware with the soul.

Lusts of the flesh do not arise in the soul.

Our soul and our flesh are different things.

 

36.3 Souls Set Before a Faithful Creator . Believers suffering according to the will of God were setting their souls before a faithful creator by doing good (1 Peter 4:19). 40Peter used the Greek term “παρατιθέσθωσαν” in the imperative with a dative following. In Mark 6:41, this same root word was used of giving the loaves to the disciples to set it before the people, using a similar verb with dative following (“παρατιθῶσιν αὐτοῖς“). Therefore, I prefer the translation “set before.”

Souls may be set before a faithful Creator.

Souls may be set before a faithful Creator by doing good.

Souls may be set before a faithful creator by doing good, even when suffering according to the will of God.

 

36.4 Souls Tormented. The righteous soul of Lot was continuously tormented day by day by the lawless deeds he heard and saw as lived among evil people (2 Peter 2:8). 41Peter emphasized the ongoing nature of the torment with “ἐβασάνιζεν“–imperfect, active, indicative. The righteous soul experiences this continuous torment.

Souls may be righteous.

Souls may be tormented continuously.

Lawless deeds seen and heard torment righteous souls.

Living among people doing lawless things torments the righteous soul.

 

36.5 Enticing SoulsPeter also warned against evil people with eyes full of adultery enticing unsteady souls (2 Peter 2:14). 42Peter used the term “δελεάζοντες“–present active participle. He also described souls as “ἀστηρίκτους“.

Souls may be enticed.

Souls may be unsteady. 

People with eyes full of adultery may entice unsteady souls.

 

36.6 Souls Sought. Elijah prayed to the Lord about evil people seeking his soul (Romans 11:3). 

People may seek the souls of others.

Evil People sought the soul of Elijah, to kill him.

 

 

Section Thirty Seven

Numbered Souls

37.1 Souls SafeNoah’s ark brought eight souls safely through the water (1 Peter 3:20).

God saved souls from the flood.

God used Noah’s ark to bring eight souls safely through the water.

 

 

Section Thirty Eight

Bought and Sold Souls

13.9 Souls Bought and Sold. Babylon considered the souls of men commodities to be bought and sold (Revelation 18:13).

Some souls may be bought and sold.

Babylon trades the souls of man like other commodities.

 

 

Section Thirty Nine

Aberrant Souls

39.1 Soulers. Some people cause divisions in the body of Christ, soulers, not having a spirit (Jude 1:19). I use the term “soulers” to describe the plural noun ” ψυχικοί” to describe the soul dominating a person for evil. That soulish person has no spirit. 43Jude described certain evil men as “Οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἀποδιορίζοντες, ψυχικοί, πνεῦμα μὴ ἔχοντες“. This verse raises many interesting points and issues. First, evil people causing divisions have a problem with their souls dominating them. Second, those same people are best described as soulish have no spirit. Three, it appears as soulish actions take over, the person has no spirit. Fourth. soul and spirit may be inversely proportional at times. Fifth, at times, the spirit may restrain the soul from evil behavior, particularly dividing the saints.

Some People are soulers.

Soulers people have no spirit.

Soulers people divide believers.

Spirit may restrain the soul from evil? 

 

 

Section Forty

Death and Souls

40.1 Souls Beg to DieThe soul of Jonah begged to die, saying that death is better than life (Jonah 4:8). 44Jonah used the phrase “וַיִּשְׁאַ֤ל אֶת־נַפְשֹׁו֙ לָמ֔וּת“.

 

40.2 Souls Delivered. Souls may be delivered from death (Psalm 33:19). 

 

40.3 Beheaded. The souls of people beheaded during the Tribulation because of the word of God and their testimony and who did not worship the beast nor take his mark and did not worship his image lived with Christ and reigned with Him for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4).

Souls may die.

Souls may live and reign with Christ after death.

 

40.5 Soul in HimEutychus fell asleep and fell from the third floor. Paul embraced him and said, “Do not be troubled for his soul is in him” (Acts 20:10). 

People do not die physically so long as the soul remains in them.

 

40.6 Souls in Sea CreaturesSome sea creatures have souls and die (Revelation 8:9; 16:13).

Some creatures have souls.

Some sea creatures have souls.

In the future, all living souls in the sea will die.

 

 

Section Forty One

Destruction of Souls

41.1 Will To Save. If a person wills to save his soul, he will destroy it (Matthew 16:25). 45The Greek word for “will” (“θέλῃ“) appears in the subjunctive mood, as part of a third class condition. People tend to try to save their own souls, but end up in Hell because they did not give up their lives to Jesus as Savior. The term destroy (“ἀπολέσει“) has strong associations with eternal destruction after the body dies on earth. Here the will of a person acts toward saving the soul. The soul and the will are not the same thing. The will remains separate from the soul, because we see that the soul receives action of the will–I will to save my soul.

People have wills.

People will to save their souls.

People who will to save their souls destroy them.

People who destroy their souls for the sake of Jesus save them.

You can destroy your soul and not sin.

 

41.2 Loving Life in This WorldJesus taught that if you love your life in this world, then you destroy it. 46The Greek term for “destroy” (“ἀπολλύει“–present active indicative) emphasizes the ongoing nature of that destruction as you love your life in this world. Paul said if we hoped in this life only, then we are of all men most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:19). In contrast, if you hate your life in this world, then you will guard it to eternal life. 47The Greek includes present active participles related to the main verbs of destroys and guards.

People can love their souls.

As you love your soul in this world, you are destroying it.

People can hate their soul in this world.

As you hate your soul in this world, then you guard it to eternal life.

 

41.3 Shrinking Back. When righteous people shrink back from living in faith, then the soul of God takes no pleasure in that person (Hebrews 10:38). Righteous people never shrink back to destruction, because they have faith to the preserving of the soul (Hebrews 10:39). 48Righteous people never shrink back to destruction (“ἀπώλειαν“–associated with destruction of the soul in the Afterlife, which only happens to unbelievers). Here, saving faith means you may shrink back for a time, like Peter and John Mark, and the soul of God does not take pleasure in such decisions. In fact, the Holy Spirit grieves over our shrinking back. Even so, once restored and we again stand firm in our faith (often through the ministry to us from other believers Ezekiel 3:20; Matthew 18:15; Luke 17:3; Galatians 6:1-10) , then the soul of God takes pleasure in us again.

Saving faith makes people righteous.

Righteous people may live by faith.

Righteous people may shrink back from living in faith.

The soul of God takes no pleasure in righteous people who shrink back from living in faith.

Saving people never shrink back to destruction, because their saving faith always preserves their soul.

 

41.4 Attacks upon the Body. Jesus warned us not to be afraid of the ones able to kill the body (Matthew 1028). Instead, we should afraid of God who is able to destroy body and soul in Hell. 

•   Souls may be destroyed in Hell.

•   Souls survive the death of the body.

•   Souls continue existence after the death of the physical body.

•   People fear destruction of their body in death.

•   God says fear Him because He can destroy both body and soul in Hell.

 

 

Section Forty Two

The Afterlife and Souls

42.1 Hades and the SoulWhen the body of an unbeliever dies, their soul goes straight to Hades (Luke 16:23–see Free E-Book on the Afterlife.) When Jesus died, God did not forsake His soul to Hades nor did His body undergo decay in the ground (Acts 2:27; Psalm 16:10–see study on Ephesians 4:7-11.)

The souls of unbelievers go to Hades when their bodies die.

Jesus has a soul. 

The soul of Jesus never went to Hades.

The body of Jesus never underwent decay in the grave.

The souls of believers never go to Hades.

The bodies of saints undergo decay in the grave after death.

 

42.2 Testimony of Souls. During the Tribulation, the souls under the altar in heaven, slain because of their testimony for God, cried out (Revelation 6:9). 

Souls continue after the body dies.

Some souls go to heaven.

Some souls in heaven appear under the altar in heaven.

Some souls bear testimony to God during the tribulation.

Some souls go to heaven because of their testimony on earth.

Some souls were slain on earth because of the word of God and their testimony.

 

42.3 Not Loved. Some people overcame the accuser of the brethren through the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony; they did not love their souls unto death (Revelation 12:11). 49John wrote: “καὶ οὐκ ἠγάπησαν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἄχρι θανάτου“.

Some people overcome evil.

Some people overcome evil by not loving their souls unto death.

 

43.4 Sheol Power.  Sheol exercises power over souls (Psalm 89:48).

 

43.5 The Rod and Sheol.  You shall strike your child with a rod and deliver his soul from Sheol (Proverbs 23:14).

 

Appendix One

Chart of the New Testament Term Soul

I have constructed a chart of New Testament verses concerning the soul. I have used very stilted Greek translations to try to convey some of the original flow of the text and to practice some verbal correspondence among terms. I do not recommend constructing a New Testament translation on any stilted Greek translations. I am doing so for my limited purposes to highlight the use of the terms, without any smoothing of the translation for English readers. A good English translation would have very careful smoothing to be more readable, while keeping the integrity of the words translated. As always, plenary, verbal inspiration of the text makes all the difference. In other words, God revealed specific words in the autographs and we must study those autographs to understand the revelation of God in detail. Translations always carry some bias and often propagate huge theological errors. I am reminded that geneticists used to refer to “junk DNA” in cells because they did not understand the function of that DNA. Now, further study reveals that we do not have junk DNA in our cells, we just had junk science labeling some DNA junk solely because people did not understand its proper function. Likewise, we have theological junk created by people who do not study the words in the Bible that they translate. Until we do careful exegesis of psychological terms, we will continue to have junk theology in translations and counseling practice.

The Usage of the Term Soul in the New Testament

VerseTextTranslationFunctionPoint
Matthew 2:20λέγων, Ἐγερθεὶς παράλαβε τὸ παιδίον καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ πορεύου εἰς γῆν Ἰσραήλ, τεθνήκασιν γὰρ οἱ ζητοῦντες τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ παιδίουArise, take the child and the mother of Him and go to Israel land; for have died the ones seeking the soul of the childEach child has a soul, and evil people may seek to kill itJesus had a soul and people sought to kill his soul
Matthew 6:25: Luke 12:22-23Διὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὑμῖν, μὴ μεριμνᾶτε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν τί φάγητε [ἢ τί πίητε,] μηδὲ τῷ σώματι ὑμῶν τί ἐνδύσησθε: οὐχὶ ἡ ψυχὴ πλεῖόν ἐστιν τῆς τροφῆς καὶ τὸ σῶμα τοῦ ἐνδύματοςFor this I say to you, not be concerned about your soul as to what to eat or what to drink, or your body what to wear. Is not the soul more than food and the body the clothingSouls have concern about food and clothingSouls can worry about food and clothing, but our souls are more that food and our bodies more than clothing
Matthew 10:28καὶ μὴ φοβεῖσθε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκτεννόντων τὸ σῶμα, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν μὴ δυναμένων ἀποκτεῖναι: φοβεῖσθε δὲ μᾶλλον τὸν δυνάμενον καὶ ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα ἀπολέσαι ἐν γεέννῃand do not be afraid of the ones killing the body, but the soul not able to kill; but fear rather the One able also soul and body to destroy in HellPeople on earth may have the power to kill the body, but only God has the power to destroy both body and soul in HellSouls exist after the body dies; God can destroy both body and soul in Hell; we only fear God, because only God can destroy both body and soul
Matthew 10:39ὁ εὑρὼν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσει αὐτήν, καὶ ὁ ἀπολέσας τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήν.He who has found his soul will destroy it, but he who destroys the soul of him for the sake of Me will find itFinding your soul leads to future destruction, but destroying your soul for the sake of Jesus will find itDestroying your soul for the sake of Jesus means you will find it in the future; finding your soul means your soul will be destroyed in the future
Matthew 11:29ἄρατε τὸν ζυγόν μου ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς καὶ μάθετε ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πραΰς εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ, καὶ εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶνTake the yoke of Me upon you and learn from Me, because gentle I am and humble in the heart, and you will find rest for the souls of youAs saints yoke up with Jesus, they will find rest for their soulsSouls find spiritual rest in Jesus
Matthew 12:18Ἰδοὺ ὁ παῖς μου ὃν ᾑρέτισα, ὁ ἀγαπητός μου εἰς ὃν εὐδόκησεν ἡ ψυχή μου: θήσω τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐπ’ αὐτόν, καὶ κρίσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀπαγγελεῖ.
Behold My Servant Whom I chose; The Beloved of Me in Whom the soul of Me took pleasure; I will place My Spirit in Him and He will announce judgment to the GentilesGod has a soul and it takes pleasure in JesusSouls take pleasure in things and people, particularly God’s soul takes pleasure in righteous acts and righteous people
Matthew 16:25ὃς γὰρ ἐὰν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι ἀπολέσει αὐτήν: ὃς δ’ ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήνFor if he may will the soul of him to save, he will destroy it; but he who may destroy the soul for sake of Me, he will find it Destroying your soul today for the sake of Jesus means you will find it in the futureSouls may be destroyed voluntarily, that you may find your soul in the future; finding your soul now leads to future destruction
Matthew 16:26: Mark 8:36ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδήσῃ τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ζημιωθῇif he gains the whole world but forfeits his own soulSoul survives deathSoul not part of the body and subject to eternal forfeit
Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45ὥσπερ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθεν διακονηθῆναι ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶνEven as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give the soul of Him a ransom for manyJesus gave His soul as a ransom for manyJesus gave His soul for us, as a ransom for our sins paid to the justice of God
Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:37; Compare Mark 12:33Ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σουYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.Body, soul and mind all commanded to love GodBody, soul and mind all capable of love for God
Matthew 26:38; Mark 14:34Περίλυπός ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή μου ἕως θανάτου: μείνατε ὧδε καὶ γρηγορεῖτε μετ’ ἐμοῦMy soul is grieved deeply until death; remain here and watch with meSoul place of emotion and affected deeply by circumstancesSoul place of emotion and deep grief; not sinful to feel deep grief
Mark 3:4καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς, Ἔξεστιν τοῖς σάββασιν ἀγαθὸν ποιῆσαι ἢ κακοποιῆσαι, ψυχὴν σῶσαι ἢ ἀποκτεῖναι; οἱ δὲ ἐσιώπωνAnd He said to them, Lawful in the Sabbath good to do or evil to do, soul to save or to kill; but they remained silentHuman souls may be saved by Jesus on earth or killedHuman souls may be saved; Human souls may be killed
Mark 8:35ὃς γὰρ ἐὰν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι ἀπολέσει αὐτήν: ὃς δ’ ἂν ἀπολέσει τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ καὶ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου σώσει αὐτήνFor if anyone wills the soul of him to save, he will destroy it; but whoever will destroy his soul for the sake of Me and the gospel of Me will save itPeople make decisions about destroying their souls; save it today means you destroy it in the future; destroy it today for the sake of Jesus and His gospel, he will save itPeople make decisions about saving their soul. If you save your soul today, you destroy it. If you destroy your soul today for the sake of Jesus and His Gospel, he will save it
Mark 8:37τί γὰρ δοῖ ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦFor what shall a man give in exchange for his soulSoul must be protected because it continues existenceSoul continues existence and people must focus upon the welfare of their soul
Mark 12:30καὶ ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σουYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strengthHeart, soul, mind and strength all separate things commanded to love GodHeart, soul, mind and strength subject to command and mus each love God; Four ways of loving God
Luke 1:46Καὶ εἶπεν Μαριάμ, Μεγαλύνει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν κύριον,and Mary said: My soul exalts the LordSoul exalts the LordPeople express that their soul exalts God
Luke 2:35 αὐτῆς τὴν ψυχὴν διελεύσεται ῥομφαία}, ὅπως ἂν ἀποκαλυφθῶσιν ἐκ πολλῶν καρδιῶν διαλογισμοί.
A sword will pierce even your own soul–so may be revealed thoughts out of many hearts.Soul may be pierced by events–and piercing may reveal many thoughtsPiercing soul may be an means of revealing many thoughts
Luke 6:9εἶπεν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς πρὸς αὐτούς, Ἐπερωτῶ ὑμᾶς, εἰ ἔξεστιν τῷ σαββάτῳ ἀγαθοποιῆσαι ἢ κακοποιῆσαι, ψυχὴν σῶσαι ἢ ἀπολέσαι;
But Jesus said to them, I ask you, is it lawful in the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, soul to save or to destroyJesus intend to do good by saving the soul, instead of destroying the soulJesus saves soul with physical healing on the Sabbath; souls may also be destroyed
Luke 9:24ὃς γὰρ ἂν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι, ἀπολέσει αὐτήν: ὃς δ’ ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ, οὗτος σώσει αὐτήν.For whoever may will the soul of him to save will destroy it; the one who may destroy the soul of him for the sake of Me he will save itPeople make decisions about their souls; if one may will to save his soul, then he will destroy it; if he may destroy his soul for the sake of the sake of Me, the he will save itSouls may be destroyed for the sake of Jesus. Souls may also be destroyed by one saving it today
Luke 12:19καὶ ἐρῶ τῇ ψυχῇ μου, Ψυχή, ἔχεις πολλὰ ἀγαθὰ κείμενα εἰς ἔτη πολλά: ἀναπαύου, φάγε, πίε, εὐφραίνου.

And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merryYou can talk to your soul; your soul can relax, eat, drink, rejoice; your soul be concerned about food and drink; you can command your soul to feel emotion, relax; internal dialogueWe talk to our souls and urge our soul to relax, eat, drink and be merry; souls eat, drink, and be merry; soul subject to command via internal dialog and from God
Luke 12:20εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ θεός, Ἄφρων, ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτὶ τὴν ψυχήν σου ἀπαιτοῦσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ: ἃ δὲ ἡτοίμασας, τίνι ἔσται;But God said to him, You fool! In this night the soul of you will be demanded from you; but what you prepared, whose it to be?Fools say to their souls relax, eat, drink and be merry because they have good laid up for yearsPeople talk to their souls and command them to relax, eat, drink and be merry; when people trust in goods, they act like fools
Luke 14:26Εἴ τις ἔρχεται πρός με καὶ οὐ μισεῖ τὸν πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τὰς ἀδελφάς, ἔτι τε καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ, οὐ δύναται εἶναί μου μαθητής.If anyone comes to Me and hates not the father of him and the mother and the wife and the children and the brothers and the sisters and even also the soul of himself, not able to be my discipleJesus commands you to hate all family members and even your own soul, so that you can be His disciple aloneHating your soul is essential to being a disciple of Jesus
Luke 17:33ὃς ἐὰν ζητήσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ περιποιήσασθαι ἀπολέσει αὐτήν, ὃς δ’ ἂν ἀπολέσῃ ζῳογονήσει αὐτήνIf anyone may seek the soul of him to gain, he will destroy it; but whoever may destroy will give life to itYou must destroy your soul before you can save your soulYou can save your soul or destroy your soul today; if you destroy your soul today, you will give life to it; if you seek to gain your soul today, you will destroy it; if you destroy your soul today, you will give it life; think new creature in Christ
Luke 21:19ἐν τῇ ὑπομονῇ ὑμῶν κτήσασθε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶνBy your endurance gain your soulsJesus commanded us to gain our souls by endurance in persecutionPeople gain their souls through endurance
John 10:11Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός: ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλὸς τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ τίθησιν ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτωνI am the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd lays down the soul of Him for the sheepJesus laid down His soul for the sheepSouls may be laid down for others, just as Jesus laid down His soul for us
John 10:15καθὼς γινώσκει με ὁ πατὴρ κἀγὼ γινώσκω τὸν πατέρα: καὶ τὴν ψυχήν μου τίθημι ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτωjust as the Father knows Me, so also I know the Father; and the soul of Me I lay down for the sheepJesus laid down His soul for the sheepSouls may be laid down; Jesus laid down His soul for us
John 10:17διὰ τοῦτό με ὁ πατὴρ ἀγαπᾷ ὅτι ἐγὼ τίθημι τὴν ψυχήν μου, ἵνα πάλιν λάβω αὐτήνFor this the Father loves Me, that I lay down the soul of Me, that again I may take itJesus lays down His soul for the sheepSouls may be laid down, in the sense of death
People make a choice to lay down the soul for another
John 10:24ἐκύκλωσαν οὖν αὐτὸν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ ἔλεγον αὐτῷ, Εως πότε τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις; εἰ σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστός, εἰπὲ ἡμῖν παρρησίᾳTherefore the Jews gathered around Him and said to Him, how long will you take up our souls? If you are the Christ, tell us openlySouls may be taken up with questionsSouls may be taken up with questions about Jesus
John 12:25ὁ φιλῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπολλύει αὐτήν, καὶ ὁ μισῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον φυλάξει αὐτήνThe one loving his soul destroys it, but the one hating his life in this world to eternal life will guard itLoving your soul today brings future destruction; hating hour soul in this world means you will guard it to eternal lifePeople loving their souls destroy them; people hating their souls in this world guard it to eternal life
John 12:27Νῦν ἡ ψυχή μου τετάρακται. καὶ τί εἴπω; Πάτερ, σῶσόν με ἐκ τῆς ὥρας ταύτης; ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο ἦλθον εἰς τὴν ὥραν ταύτην.
Now My soul has been troubled; and what shall I say, “Father save me out of this hour; but for this I came to this hourEvents trouble our soul and it stays troubled; speaking not associated with soul; we speak to our souls and they feel, relax, eat, drink, etc.Events troubling your soul do not mean sin; the trouble in the soul comes from a conflict about the future and our purpose in life
John 13:37λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Πέτρος, Κύριε, διὰ τί οὐ δύναμαί σοι ἀκολουθῆσαι ἄρτι; τὴν ψυχήν μου ὑπὲρ σοῦ θήσω.Peter said to Him, Lord, because of what I am not able to follow You now? I will lay down my soul for YouSouls may be laid down for another person, even to deathTranslators frequently equate the soul with life; but Jesus carefully distinguished soul from life
John 13:38ἀποκρίνεται Ἰησοῦς, Τὴν ψυχήν σου ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ θήσεις; ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, οὐ μὴ ἀλέκτωρ φωνήσῃ ἕως οὗ ἀρνήσῃ με τρίς.
Jesus answered, The soul of you for Me you will lay down? I say to you, absolutely not shall crow the rooster until you may have denied Me three timesPeople may talk about laying down their souls, but then fail to do so People may intend to lay down their souls, but later not follow through
John 15:3μείζονα ταύτης ἀγάπην οὐδεὶς ἔχει, ἵνα τις τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ θῇ ὑπὲρ τῶν φίλων αὐτοῦGreater than this love no one has, than anyone the soul of him may lay down for his friendsPeople may lay down their souls for their friendsSouls may be laid down for friends
Acts 2:27ὅτι οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψεις τὴν ψυχήν μου εἰς ἅ|δην, οὐδὲ δώσεις τὸν ὅσιόν σου ἰδεῖν διαφθοράνbecause you will not forsake the soul of me to Hades, nor will you give the Holy One of you to see corruption.Souls of believers do not go to Hades; bodies may decay in the earth; Jesus was not forsaken to Hades and His body did not undergo decay in the groundSouls of unbelievers may be forsaken to Sheol, while bodies decay in the earth
Acts 2:41οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀποδεξάμενοι τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ ἐβαπτίσθησαν, καὶ προσετέθησαν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ψυχαὶ ὡσεὶ τρισχίλιαιSo then, the ones receiving the word of him were baptized, and were added in that day about three thousand soulsThree thousand souls were added to the church in one day, when they received the GospelThe soul responds to the Gospel and the word of God, resulting in that soul being saved and added to the church
Acts 2:43Ἐγίνετο δὲ πάσῃ ψυχῇ φόβος, πολλά τε τέρατα καὶ σημεῖα διὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐγίνετο.But into every soul fear came into being; and many signs and wonders came into being through the apostlesSouls may fearSouls may fear as they watch God work
Acts 3:23ἔσται δὲ πᾶσα ψυχὴ ἥτις ἐὰν μὴ ἀκούσῃ τοῦ προφήτου ἐκείνου ἐξολεθρευθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ.
And it will be that every soul which may not hear the Prophet that one shall be destroyed from among the peopleSouls must heed and obey the Prophet and God’s truthGod have a spiritual capacity to love and obey God
Acts 4:32ῦ δὲ πλήθους τῶν πιστευσάντων ἦν καρδία καὶ ψυχὴ μία, and the multitude of the ones believing were in heart and soul oneBoth souls and hearts can be united with other believers; witnessed by having all things in commonSoul and hearts can both be one with other believers, and share everything
Acts 7:14ἀποστείλας δὲ Ἰωσὴφ μετεκαλέσατο Ἰακὼβ τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν συγγένειαν ἐν ψυχαῖς ἑβδομήκοντα πέντε
Then Joseph having sent invited Jacob the father of him and all the relatives in souls, seventy fiveSouls have relativesSouls have relatives
Acts 14:2οἱ δὲ ἀπειθήσαντες Ἰουδαῖοι ἐπήγειραν καὶ ἐκάκωσαν τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἐθνῶν κατὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶνBut the disbelieving Jews stirred up and mistreated the souls of the Gentiles against the brethren.Souls may be spiritually stirred up and mistreated the souls of the brethrenPeople may may stir up and mistreat the souls of other people against other people
Acts 14:22ἐπιστηρίζοντες τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν μαθητῶν, παρακαλοῦντες ἐμμένειν τῇ πίστει, καὶ ὅτι διὰ πολλῶν θλίψεων δεῖ ἡμᾶς εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ.strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging to remain in the faith and that through many tribulations must we pass through to enter into the kingdom of GodSouls may be strengthened to endure tribulationsSouls undergo tribulations and require spiritual encouragement
Acts 15:24Ἐπειδὴ ἠκούσαμεν ὅτι τινὲς ἐξ ἡμῶν [ἐξελθόντες] ἐτάραξαν ὑμᾶς λόγοις ἀνασκευάζοντες τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν, οἷς οὐ διεστειλάμεθαSince we have heard that some of you having come have disturbed you in words upsetting the souls of you, whom we gave to them no instructionSouls may disturbed and upset by words spoken to themSouls respond to words and may encouraged, disturbed or unsettled
Acts 15:26ἀνθρώποις παραδεδωκόσι τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
Men who have given over their souls for the name of the Lord of us, Jesus ChristMen give over their souls for the name of Jesus ChristMen decide to give over their souls for the name of Jesus Christ
Acts 20:24ἀλλ’ οὐδενὸς λόγου ποιοῦμαι τὴν ψυχὴν τιμίαν ἐμαυτῷ ὡς τελειῶσαι τὸν δρόμον μου καὶ τὴν διακονίαν ἣν ἔλαβον παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ, διαμαρτύρασθαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς χάριτος τοῦ θεοῦ.But I make as nothing the value of the soul of me to myself, so that to finish the course of me and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of GodPaul considered his own soul of no value for the sake of completing his ministry of the Gospel of the grace of GodWe put a value upon our souls and that value influences our ministry for Christ
Acts 20:10καταβὰς δὲ ὁ Παῦλος ἐπέπεσεν αὐτῷ καὶ συμπεριλαβὼν εἶπεν, Μὴ θορυβεῖσθε, ἡ γὰρ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ἐστινBut Paul having descended fell upon him and having embraced him, he said, Do not be troubled for the soul is in himSouls remain in people as long they liveSouls leave the body at death, but remain throughout life
Acts 27:22καὶ τὰ νῦν παραινῶ ὑμᾶς εὐθυμεῖν, ἀποβολὴ γὰρ ψυχῆς οὐδεμία ἔσται ἐξ ὑμῶν πλὴν τοῦ πλοίουand now I urge you to take courage; for not one loss of soul of you will be except the shipSouls may be lost during storms, referring to deathSouls may die during storms
Acts 27:37ἤμεθα δὲ αἱ πᾶσαι ψυχαὶ ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ διακόσιαι ἑβδομήκοντα ἕξBut all the souls located in the ship were two hundred seventy-six personsSouls make voyages and go on tripsSouls have a specific location and are separate from one another
Romans 2:9θλῖψις καὶ στενοχωρία ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ψυχὴν ἀνθρώπου τοῦ κατεργαζομένου τὸ κακόν, Ἰουδαίου τε πρῶτον καὶ ΕλληνοςTribulation and distress upon every soul of man of those doing evil, to the Jew first and GreekSouls do evil and souls then experience tribulation and distress Souls of both Jews and Gentiles experience tribulation and distress who does evil
Romans 11:3Κύριε, τοὺς προφήτας σου ἀπέκτειναν, τὰ θυσιαστήριά σου κατέσκαψαν, κἀγὼ ὑπελείφθην μόνος, καὶ ζητοῦσιν τὴν ψυχήν μουLord, the prophets of You they have killed, the altars of You they have torn down, and I am left alone and they seek the soul of me.Elijah prayed: Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my soul.Evil people may seek the souls of the righteous.
Romans 13:1Πᾶσα ψυχὴ ἐξουσίαις ὑπερεχούσαις ὑποτασσέσθω. οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἐξουσία εἰ μὴ ὑπὸ θεοῦ, αἱ δὲ οὖσαι ὑπὸ θεοῦ τεταγμέναι εἰσίνEvery soul must be in subjection to the governing authorities. For not is government except not by God, and but the ones existing are the ones having been established
by God
All souls must be in subjection to governmentAll souls must live in subjection to government because God establishes authority
Romans 16:4οἵτινες ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς μου τὸν ἑαυτῶν τράχηλον ὑπέθηκαν, οἷς οὐκ ἐγὼ μόνος εὐχαριστῶ ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ ἐκκλησίαι τῶν ἐθνῶνwho for the soul of me their own neck risked, but not I alone give thanks, but also all the churches of the GenitilesSouls may be risked for the benefit of othersSouls may be risked to help other believers
1 Corinthians 2:14ψυχικὸς δὲ ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ θεοῦ, μωρία γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐστιν, καὶ οὐ δύναται γνῶναι, ὅτι πνευματικῶς ἀνακρίνεταιBut the soul man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God; for foolish to him they are and not able to know, because they are examined spiritually The soul man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and spiritually examinedThe soul man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God, because those things are foolishness to him; he cannot know them, because they are spiritually examined
1 Corinthians 14:7ὅμως τὰ ἄψυχα φωνὴν διδόντα, εἴτε αὐλὸς εἴτε κιθάρα, ἐὰν διαστολὴν τοῖς φθόγγοις μὴ δῷ, πῶς γνωσθήσεται τὸ αὐλούμενον ἢ τὸ κιθαριζόμενον;Yet souless things give sounds, either flute either harp, if difference in tone not may give, how to be known the thing played on flute or the thing played on harpHarps and Flutes are soulless things that still make soundsEven soulless things like harps and flutes still play sounds, implying souls make sounds
1 Corinthians 15:44σπείρεται σῶμα ψυχικόν, ἐγείρεται σῶμα πνευματικόν. εἰ ἔστιν σῶμα ψυχικόν, ἔστιν καὶ πνευματικόνbody sown soulal, is raised body spiritual. If there is a body soulal, also is spiritualWe exist first as Soulal bodies, but we are raised spiritual bodiesThe natural man has a soulal body; upon salvation, we look forward to resurrection into spiritual bodies
1 Corinthians 15:45οὕτως καὶ γέγραπται, Ἐγένετο ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος Ἀδὰμ εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν: ὁ ἔσχατος Ἀδὰμ εἰς πνεῦμα ζῳοποιοῦνSo also it is written, The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam life-making spiritAdam became a living soul; Genesis 2:7; Jesus became a life-making spiritGod breathed a living soul into Adam; Jesus made spirit alive
1 Corinthians 15:46ἀλλ’ οὐ πρῶτον τὸ πνευματικὸν ἀλλὰ τὸ ψυχικόν, ἔπειτα τὸ πνευματικόνbut not first the spiritual, but the soulal, then the spiritualsoulal bodies come first, then spiritual bodiesNotice the soul relates directly to the body; after resurrection,we have spiritual bodies
2 Corinthians 1:23Ἐγὼ δὲ μάρτυρα τὸν θεὸν ἐπικαλοῦμαι ἐπὶ τὴν ἐμὴν ψυχήν, ὅτι φειδόμενος ὑμῶν οὐκέτι ἦλθον εἰς Κόρινθον.
But I call God as witness to the soul of me, that to spare you I no more came to CorinthGod can testify of your soul as to motive and purpose in the soulThe soul has purpose and intent which affect our action and plans
2 Corinthians 12:15ἐγὼ δὲ ἥδιστα δαπανήσω καὶ ἐκδαπανηθήσομαι ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν. εἰ περισσοτέρως ὑμᾶς ἀγαπῶ[ν], ἧσσον ἀγαπῶμαι;
But I gladly spend and be spent for the souls of you; if more you I love, less I am loved?For love of the Corinthians the soul of Paul will be spent and to be spentSouls may be spent now and in the future for other people
Ephesians 6:6μὴ κατ’ ὀφθαλμοδουλίαν ὡς ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι ἀλλ’ ὡς δοῦλοι Χριστοῦ ποιοῦντες τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκ ψυχῆςnot according to eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God out of soulSlaves do not serve their master according to eyeservice, or as men-pleaswer, but they work from their souls, according to the will of God, as slaves of ChristPeople doing the will of God work out of soul, as slaves of God. Soul service emeans not eyeservice or men-pleasing.
Philippians 1:27Μόνον ἀξίως τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ Χριστοῦ πολιτεύεσθε, ἵνα εἴτε ἐλθὼν καὶ ἰδὼν ὑμᾶς εἴτε ἀπὼν ἀκούω τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν, ὅτι στήκετε ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι, μιᾷ ψυχῇ συναθλοῦντες τῇ πίστει τοῦ εὐαγγελίου,Only worthy of the Gospel of Christ Jesus live, so that if I come and see you if having arrived I am hearing the things concerning you, that you are standing fast in one spirit, striving in one soul in the faith of the GospelSaints may unite their souls in standing firm in one spirit, with one soul striving together for the faith of the
Gospel
Believers may stand firm in one spirit and strive for the Gospel with one soul
Philippians 2:2πληρώσατέ μου τὴν χαρὰν ἵνα τὸ αὐτὸ φρονῆτε, τὴν αὐτὴν ἀγάπην ἔχοντες, σύμψυχοι, τὸ ἓν φρονοῦντες,
Make complete the joy of me that the same you think, the same love, united souls having, so that you are thinking as oneUnited souls have the same love and think the sameSouls of saints may be united, and think the same, having the same love the same, and be one in thinking
Philippians 2:20οὐδένα γὰρ ἔχω ἰσόψυχον ὅστις γνησίως τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν μεριμνήσειFor no one I have same-souled, who genuinely the things concerning you be concerned aboutOnly Timothy and Paul shared the same-souled concern for the ThessaloniansPeople may share a same-souled concern for other believers
Philippians 2:30ὅτι διὰ τὸ ἔργον Χριστοῦ μέχρι θανάτου ἤγγισεν, παραβολευσάμενος τῇ ψυχῇ ἵνα ἀναπληρώσῃ τὸ ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα τῆς πρός με λειτουργίαςbecause through the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his soul, that he may complete the things lacking in your service to meBelievers risk their souls for the sake of Christ, even coming near to the point of deathSaints risk their souls for the sake of the Gospel and their souls may die for it
Colossians 3:3ὃ ἐὰν ποιῆτε, ἐκ ψυχῆς ἐργάζεσθε, ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώποιςIf anything you may do, out of soul you work as to the Lord and not to menWe work from the soul and so please the LordWe work from the soul and so work as to the Lord, and not to please men
1 Thessalonians 2:8οὕτως ὁμειρόμενοι ὑμῶν εὐδοκοῦμεν μεταδοῦναι ὑμῖν οὐ μόνον τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχάς, διότι ἀγαπητοὶ ἡμῖν ἐγενήθητε.Having such a longing for you, we were pleased to give over to you not only the Gospel of God, but also the souls of ourselves, because beloved to us you becameSouls may be given to other people as part of sharing the GospelGood evangelism means imparting your soul as well sharing the Gospel of God
1 Thessalonians 5:14παρακαλοῦμεν δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, νουθετεῖτε τοὺς ἀτάκτους, παραμυθεῖσθε τοὺς ὀλιγοψύχους, ἀντέχεσθε τῶν ἀσθενῶν, μακροθυμεῖτε πρὸς πάνταςWe exhort you, brethren, to encourage the fainthearted, comfort the small-souled, help the weak, be patient with allSmall-souled people may be discouraged. They need spiritual comfort.People may be small-souled, implying souls may be large or small. Small-souled means discouraged.
1 Thessalonians 5:23Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης ἁγιάσαι ὑμᾶς ὁλοτελεῖς, καὶ ὁλόκληρον ὑμῶν τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀμέμπτως ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τηρηθείηBut may the God of peace Himself sanctify you ultimately, and whole being kept your the spirit and the soul and the body blameless in the appearing of the Lord our Jesus Christ.Spirit, soul and body may be kept and preserved blameless, but they will kept until the appearing of the Lord Jesus ChristSpirit, soul and body will all be sanctified and kept for the appearing of Jesus Christ
Hebrews 4:12Ζῶν γὰρ ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐνεργὴς καὶ τομώτερος ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν μάχαιραν δίστομον καὶ διϊκνούμενος ἄχρι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς καὶ πνεύματος, ἁρμῶν τε καὶ μυελῶν, καὶ κριτικὸς ἐνθυμήσεων καὶ ἐννοιῶν καρδίας:For living the word of God and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and penetrating as far as the divison of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge thoughts and intentions of heartGod’s word divides soul from spirit, and judges the thoughts and intentions of the heartSoul and spirit are not the same and may be divided by the word of God. Therefore, the word of God has the ability to pierce and separate the activity of the soul from the activity of the spirit. The heart has thoughts and intentions and stands distinguishable from soul and spirit.
Hebrews 6:19ἣν ὡς ἄγκυραν ἔχομεν τῆς ψυχῆς, ἀσφαλῆ τε καὶ βεβαίαν καὶ εἰσερχομένην εἰς τὸ ἐσώτερον τοῦ καταπετάσματος,
was as anchor we have the soul safe, both safe and firm and one which enters into the inside of the veilOur soul needs an anchor, safe and secureOur hope is an anchor for the soul, safe and steadfast and enters inside the veil
Hebrews 10:38ὁ δὲ δίκαιός μου ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται, καὶ ἐὰν ὑποστείληται, οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου ἐν αὐτῷ.but My righteous one out of faith shall live and if shrinks back, the soul of Me not please with himGod’s soul takes pleasure in steadfast believerssGod has a soul and it takes no pleasure in righteous ones shrinking back
Hebrews 10:39ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἐσμὲν ὑποστολῆς εἰς ἀπώλειαν, ἀλλὰ πίστεως εἰς περιποίησιν ψυχῆς
But we are not shrinking back to destruction, but of faith to preserving the soulFaith preserves the soul of believersWe do not shrink back to destruction, because our faith preserves our soul
Hebrews 12:3ἀναλογίσασθε γὰρ τὸν τοιαύτην ὑπομεμενηκότα ὑπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἀντιλογίαν, ἵνα μὴ κάμητε ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν ἐκλυόμενοιFor consider the similar one enduring by the sinners against Himself hostility, that the soul of you may not be discouraged, giving up Souls may be discouraged by hostility from sinners, but they should not give up as they consider Jesus who endured such hostility HimselfSouls endure hostility and may give up, unless they focus upon Jesus and His enduring hostility from sinners
Hebrews 13:17Πείθεσθε τοῖς ἡγουμένοις ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπείκετε, αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀγρυπνοῦσιν ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ὡς λόγον ἀποδώσοντες, ἵνα μετὰ χαρᾶς τοῦτο ποιῶσιν καὶ μὴ στενάζοντες, ἀλυσιτελὲς γὰρ ὑμῖν τοῦτοObey the leaders of you and subject, for they watch over your souls as one who renders an account, that with joy they do it, and not with grumbling, for this unhelpful to youLeaders watch over our soulsGod wants leaders to watch over our souls
James 1:8ἀνὴρ δίψυχος, ἀκατάστατος ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦman double-souled, unstable in all his waysTwo-souled people are unstable in all their waysPeople may be two-souled, making them unstable in all their ways
James 1:21διὸ ἀποθέμενοι πᾶσαν ῥυπαρίαν καὶ περισσείαν κακίας ἐν πραΰτητι δέξασθε τὸν ἔμφυτον λόγον τὸν δυνάμενον σῶσαι τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶνTherefore, having put aside all filthiness and overflow of evil, in humility receive the implanted word, the power to save the soul of youThe word has the power to save your soulsSouls are saved by the word of God implanted in them
James 3:15οὐκ ἔστιν αὕτη ἡ σοφία ἄνωθεν κατερχομένη, ἀλλὰ ἐπίγειος, ψυχική, δαιμονιώδηςnot is this the wisdom above coming down, but earthly, soulish, and demonicSome wisdom is soulishSome wisdom is soulish
James 4:8ἐγγίσατε τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐγγιεῖ ὑμῖν. καθαρίσατε χεῖρας, ἁμαρτωλοί, καὶ ἁγνίσατε καρδίας, δίψυχοιDraw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-souledPeople may be double-souled; they need their hands cleansed and their heart purified. They need to draw near to God.People may be double-souled. They need to draw near to God and God will draw near to them. They need to cleanse their hands as sinners, and purify their hearts.
James 5:20γινωσκέτω ὅτι ὁ ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ σώσει ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου καὶ καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶνLet him know that the one who turns a sinner from error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sinsSouls can be saved from death by a one who turns a sinner from the error of his waysSouls may be saved from the errors of their ways
1 Peter 1:9κομιζόμενοι τὸ τέλος τῆς πίστεως [ὑμῶν] σωτηρίαν ψυχῶνobtaining the end of the faith of you, salvation of soulsSouls are saved by faithSouls can be saved in the end for salvation by faith
1 Peter 1:22Τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν ἡγνικότες ἐν τῇ ὑπακοῇ τῆς ἀληθείας εἰς φιλαδελφίαν ἀνυπόκριτον, ἐκ [καθαρᾶς] καρδίας ἀλλήλους ἀγαπήσατε ἐκτενῶς,
Since you have purified the souls of you in the obedience to the truth in a sincere brotherly love, out of heart one another love ferventlySouls may obey the truth and may be purified by obeying the truth, which allows believers to love one another from the heartThe soul may be purified by obedience to the truth; the heart loves one another without hypocrisy
1 Peter 2:11Ἀγαπητοί, παρακαλῶ ὡς παροίκους καὶ παρεπιδήμους ἀπέχεσθαι τῶν σαρκικῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν, αἵτινες στρατεύονται κατὰ τῆς ψυχῆς:
Beloved, I beseech you as aliens and strangers to avoid the lusts of the flesh which wage war against the soulOur fleshly lusts wage war against our soul; but we can abstain from those fleshly lusts Our fleshly lusts wage constant war with our souls, but we may abstain from such fleshly lusts
1 Peter 2:25ἦτε γὰρ ὡς πρόβατα πλανώμενοι, ἀλλὰ ἐπεστράφητε νῦν ἐπὶ τὸν ποιμένα καὶ ἐπίσκοπον τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶνFor you were as sheep straying, but now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of the souls of youSouls stray, but they return to the Shepherd and Overseer of SoulsJesus is the Shepherd and Overseer of Souls
1 Peter 3:20ἀπειθήσασίν ποτε ὅτε ἀπεξεδέχετο ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ μακροθυμία ἐν ἡμέραις Νῶε κατασκευαζομένης κιβωτοῦ, εἰς ἣν ὀλίγοι, τοῦτ’ ἔστιν ὀκτὼ ψυχαί, διεσώθησαν δι’ ὕδατοςonce disobedient when waited the patience of God in days of Noah ark construction in which few, that is eight souls, were brought safely through the waterGod waited patiently for Noah to build the ark in which eight souls were brought safely through the waterGod brings souls to safety through plans laid before catastrophes
1 Peter 4:19ὥστε καὶ οἱ πάσχοντες κατὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ πιστῷ κτίστῃ παρατιθέσθωσαν τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ἐν ἀγαθοποιΐᾳSo that also the ones suffering according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing goodBelievers entrust their souls to faithful God by doing good Souls may be entrusted to a faithful Creator by doing good, even as they suffer according to the will of God
2 Peter 2:8βλέμματι γὰρ καὶ ἀκοῇ ὁ δίκαιος ἐγκατοικῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας ψυχὴν δικαίαν ἀνόμοις ἔργοις ἐβασάνιζεν:
For the things seen and the things heard while the righteous lived among them, were tormenting day by day, his righteous soul by lawless deedsthe soul of the righteous man feels torment day by day by the lawless deeds around himSouls may be tormented by lawless deeds, and it continues day by day
2 Peter 2:14ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντες μεστοὺς μοιχαλίδος καὶ ἀκαταπαύστους ἁμαρτίας, δελεάζοντες ψυχὰς ἀστηρίκτους, καρδίαν γεγυμνασμένην πλεονεξίας ἔχοντες, κατάρας τέκνα,Having eyes full of adultery and unceasing sin, enticing unsteady souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed childrenevil adulterers entice unstable soulsSouls may be enticed by other people to do evil with other people
1 John 3:16ἐν τούτῳ ἐγνώκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην, ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκεν: καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τὰς ψυχὰς θεῖναιIn this we have known the love, that He for us laid down the soul of Him; and we ought concerning the brethren of us to lay down the soulsBecause Jesus laid down His soul for us, we should lay down our souls for the brethrenSouls may be laid down for the saints, just like Jesus loved us and laid down His soul for us
3 John 1:2 Ἀγαπητέ, περὶ πάντων εὔχομαί σε εὐοδοῦσθαι καὶ ὑγιαίνειν, καθὼς εὐοδοῦταί σου ἡ ψυχήBeloved, concerning all things I wish you to prosper and be in good health, even as prospers your soulSouls may prosperSouls may prosper, just like good health; John prayed for souls
Jude 1:15ποιῆσαι κρίσιν κατὰ πάντων καὶ ἐλέγξαι πᾶσαν ψυχὴν περὶ πάντων τῶν ἔργων ἀσεβείας αὐτῶν ὧν ἠσέβησαν καὶ περὶ πάντων τῶν σκληρῶν ὧν ἐλάλησαν κατ’ αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀσεβεῖς
To do judgment against all and to convict every soul concerning all the wicked works of them while living unGodly and concerning the hard which the unGodly sinners spoke against HimSouls may be convicted of their unGodly works and the hard things they speak as sinners against GodSouls may be convicted of their unGodly works
Jude 1:19Οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἀποδιορίζοντες, ψυχικοί, πνεῦμα μὴ ἔχοντεςThese are the ones dividing, the ones soulish, not having spiritMockers following their own lusts are dividers, soulish, and not having spiritSoulish describes mocker who divide, without spirit
Revelation 6:9 Καὶ ὅτε ἤνοιξεν τὴν πέμπτην σφραγῖδα, εἶδον ὑποκάτω τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἐσφαγμένων διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ διὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἣν εἶχονAnd when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those slain because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they hadSouls in heaven gave testimony for God and reside under the altarSouls go to heaven and some of them reside under the altar; those souls were killed because of the word and their testimony on earth
Revelation 8:9καὶ ἀπέθανεν τὸ τρίτον τῶν κτισμάτων τῶν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, τὰ ἔχοντα ψυχάς, καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῶν πλοίων διεφθάρησανAnd were killed the third of the creatures in the sea which have souls and the third of the ships were destroyedSome creatures in the sea have souls and diedSome sea creatures have souls which may die
Revelation 12:11καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐνίκησαν αὐτὸν διὰ τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ἀρνίου καὶ διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς μαρτυρίας αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἠγάπησαν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἄχρι θανάτου.
And they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb and the word of the testimony of them and not they loved the souls of them unto deathPeople may love their soulsPeople may love their souls
People may love Jesus more than they love their souls
Revelation 16:3καὶ ὁ δεύτερος ἐξέχεεν τὴν φιάλην αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν: καὶ ἐγένετο αἷμα ὡς νεκροῦ, καὶ πᾶσα ψυχὴ ζωῆς ἀπέθανεν, τὰ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃAnd the second angle poured his bowl upon the sea; and it became blood as of dead, and all souls of life died, the things in the seaAll living things in the sea have soulsThe soul of life, present in living things, may die
Revelation 18:13καὶ κιννάμωμον καὶ ἄμωμον καὶ θυμιάματα καὶ μύρον καὶ λίβανον καὶ οἶνον καὶ ἔλαιον καὶ σεμίδαλιν καὶ σῖτον καὶ κτήνη καὶ πρόβατα, καὶ ἵππων καὶ ῥεδῶν καὶ σωμάτων, καὶ ψυχὰς ἀνθρώπων.and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and horses and carriages and bodies and souls of menBabylon considered the souls of men merchandiseSouls may be bought and sold
Revelation 18:14καὶ ἡ ὀπώρα σου τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπῆλθεν ἀπὸ σοῦ, καὶ πάντα τὰ λιπαρὰ καὶ τὰ λαμπρὰ ἀπώλετο ἀπὸ σοῦ, καὶ οὐκέτι οὐ μὴ αὐτὰ εὑρήσουσινand the fruit of you, the longing of the soul gone from you, and all the bright and all the beautiful have been destroyed from you and no longer, never ever, will they find them Souls can long for fruit, and bright and beautiful things, but they they will never find themSouls can long for luxury items, but may never find them or they can be destroyed
Revelation 20:4Καὶ εἶδον θρόνους, καὶ ἐκάθισαν ἐπ’ αὐτούς, καὶ κρίμα ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς, καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν πεπελεκισμένων διὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ καὶ διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ οἵτινες οὐ προσεκύνησαν τὸ θηρίον οὐδὲ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἔλαβον τὸ χάραγμα ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτῶν: καὶ ἔζησαν καὶ ἐβασίλευσαν μετὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ χίλια ἔτη.
Then I saw thrones and they sat upon them and judgment was given to them and the souls of the beheaded because of the testiomony of Jeus and because of the word of God adn who not worshiped the beast nor the imae of him and not received the mark upon their forehead and upon the hand of them, and they lived with Christ they reigned
a thousand years
The souls beheaded lived and reigned with Christ on earth a thousand yearsSouls who never took the mark of the beast or his image or worshiped him lived with Christ reigned with Christ for a thousand years

References[+]

References
1 The Hebrew text reads: וַיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה.” Yahweh Elohim blew (“יִּפַּ֥ח“) into the nose of Adam and he became a living soul (“לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה“). Notice the Lamedh indicating a change happened in the man–he became a living soul.
2 Paul wrote: πείρεται σῶμα ψυχικόν, ἐγείρεται σῶμα πνευματικόν (1 Corinthians 15:44).
3 Paul wrote: “Ἐγένετο ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος Ἀδὰμ εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν
4 Jesus said: τὰ ῥήματα   ἐγὼ λελάληκα ὑμῖν πνεῦμά ἐστιν καὶ ζωή ἐστιν“. This verse contains the only other use of the term “ζῳοποιοῦν.”
5 The Greek term for “division” (“μερισμοῦ”) means different parts of a whole. See Mark 3:24 where a kingdom divided (“μερισθῇ”) against itself cannot stand and Luke 12:13 where a person calls upon Jesus to tell his brother to divide (“μερίσασθαι”) the inheritance with him.
6 While I appreciate the interplay between finding a soul and losing a soul, I like the translation better of finding a soul and destroying a soul because the same word is used to describe the evil vine-growers whom Christ destroys when he returns (Matthew 21:41; Luke 20:16; Mark 12:9). The word destruction describes suffering in the Afterlife–See Section Four in my E-Book on Afterlife. People find (a) the kingdom of God hidden as a treasure in the field (Matthew 13:44); (b) the pearl of great price (Matthew  13:56), (c) the sheep carried on the shoulders (Luke 15:5). Jesus found the Man Born Blind (John 9:35) and a young donkey (John 12:14). Finding means eternal life, as compared to eternal destruction.
7 Matthew quoted from the Servant Songs of Isaiah regarding Messiah, the Suffering Servant of God (Isaiah 42:1).
8 The root of the idea of “exalt” (“Μεγαλύνει“) means to enlarge, and so conveys exalt (Matthew 23:5 of tassels). Paul also wrote that Christ is exalted in his body whether through life or through death (“ἐν τῷ σώματί μου, εἴτε διὰ ζωῆς εἴτε διὰ θανάτου“).
9 The Greek phrase was “Εως πότε τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις;
10 John described the trouble this ways: “Νῦν ἡ ψυχή μου τετάρακται”–notice the perfect tense of the verb indicating a continuing condition of trouble.
11, 13 Some translators equate soul with life and employ that error in theology into their translations. The Greek term for “the soul” (“τὴν ψυχὴν“) has a special meaning throughout the Bible and should not be viewed merely as the “immaterial” part of man, subsuming soul, spirit, and other things under the single heading of “life” or some other general rubric. God inspired the words of the Bible and should be viewed with special care when God used different words such as soul and life and spirit and heart and will.
12 Translators display their bias by equating the terms life and soul. In this verse, Jesus used the term “soul” (“ψυχὴν“), not life, as the object of to save (“σῶσαι“) or to kill (“ἀποκτεῖναι“).
14 Translators display their bias by equating the terms life and soul. In this verse, Jesus used the term “soul” (“ψυχὴν”), not life, as the object of to save (“σῶσαι”) or to kill (“ἀποκτεῖναι”).
15 James wrote: τὸν δυνάμενον σῶσαι τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν.”
16 The Greek participle  “κομιζόμενοι” has other uses of the root word indicating it may mean to receive back or be paid back  as in Ephesians 6:8; Colossians 4:25), but that meaning tends to undermine grace in this context which talks about faith without seeing Jesus.
17 Peter used the Greek term ” ἀκούσῃ for heed.
18 Peter used the word “will be ruined” (“ἐξολεθρευθήσεται”). Compare the related word  ὄλεθρον to describe Satan destroying the body, but the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:5); and the penalty of eternal ruin  (“ὄλεθρον αἰώνιον“) (2 Thessalonians 1:9); and the ruin of destruction (“εἰς ὄλεθρον καὶ ἀπώλειαν“) (1 Timothy 6:9); and destruction (” ὄλεθρος “) coming upon people after they heard “Peace and safety!” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:3).  Translating ὄλεθρον as destruction causes problems in distinguishing it from ἀπώλειαν used repeatedly to describe destruction of the soul in the Afterlife. Verbal correspondence of terms for English readers must be considered to communicate the verbal inspiration of Scripture.  I repeatedly fail to apply that principle in my work, but I am growing far more sensitive to verbal correspondence. The ὄλεθρον appears to relate to bodily ruin and ἀπώλειαν certainly relates to soul destruction. Further study would be required here and for many other terms in this study. Peter’s use of the related term for ruin may mean the person not heeding Jesus will die bodily, and so be removed from the living congregation of Israel.
19 The Greek term for “gain” (“κερδήσῃ“) means to acquire, in this case through human effort or success. This third class condition speaks to a probable event; wide is the path to destruction and many people enter there. The Greek term for “forfeit” (“ζημιωθῇ“) occurs in the subjunctive mood, indicating the certain outcome of gaining the world and losing eternity. Paul used a similar term in describing the loss of cargo on a ship during a storm (Acts 27:10).
20 Jesus put it this way in Greek: ἐν τῇ ὑπομονῇ ὑμῶν κτήσασθε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν. The term “gain” (“κτήσασθε“) in this context means to acquire.
21 James described it this way:  ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐκ πλάνης ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ σώσει ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου“.
22 God used three distinct Greek terms there: the heart (“τῇ καρδίᾳ“), soul (“τῇ ψυχῇ“) and mind (“τῇ διανοίᾳ“). I prefer the translation in your heart, in your mind, and in your heart to capture the preposition ἐν with the dative case.  Just as worry may be in the soul (Luke 12:22), so also love is in the soul and comes from the soul, as well as the heart and the mind.
23 John used the Greek phrase: ἐγὼ τίθημι τὴν ψυχήν μου, ἵνα πάλιν λάβω αὐτήν. Jesus emphasized that He laid down His life and no one took it from Him (John 10:18).
24 The phrase “risked their lives” completely misses the point. Luke described Paul and Barnabas as men “who gave over their souls” (“παραδεδωκόσι τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν” followed by ” ὑπὲρ “). Again, the word for soul should never be confused with the term “life.” Luke did not talk about risk, but about giving the soul to the Lord Jesus (see Pilate handing over “παραδεδώκεισαν” Jesus to the Jews (Mark 15:10); and the devil offering to hand over (“παραδέδοται “) the world (Luke 4:6).
25 In Acts 21.24, Paul was directed to pay the expenses (“δαπάνησον”) for men under a vow. Same root word used of paying for the soul of the Corinthians.
26 Luke used the phrase “the relative in souls” (“τὴν συγγένειαν ἐνψυχαῖς“).
27 Paul put it this way: “πληρώσατέ μου τὴν χαρὰν ἵνα τὸ αὐτὸ φρονῆτε, τὴν αὐτὴν ἀγάπην ἔχοντες, σύμψυχοι, τὸ ἓν φρονοῦντες“. Paul actually commanded them to make his joy full. Regarding thinking, Paul may have also meant to think the one thing.
28 James the wisdom not from above as “ἐπίγειος, ψυχική, δαιμονιώδης”.
29 Luke used the phrase “ἀποβολὴ γὰρ ψυχῆς οὐδεμία ἔσται ἐξ ὑμῶν.
30 Matthew used the Greek term “grieved deeply” (“Περίλυπός“) ; Greek has a nice phrase for “deeply grieved” (“ἐλυπήθησαν σφόδρα“–Matthew 17:23). Περίλυπός also appears in Mark 6:26 to describe Herod’s sorrow over having to behead John the Baptist and in Luke 18:23 to describe the rich ruler after Jesus told him to sell everything so that he may inherit eternal life. Therefore, in Matthew 17:23, we see the additional phrase of deeply grieved until death (“ἕως θανάτου”–this preposition generally speaks of time; so Jesus was grieved until the time of His death, not as a description of how badly He grieved at the moment; after death, glory and rejoicing).
31 The Greek text reads: “ἵνα μὴ κάμητε ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν ἐκλυόμενοι.” This common “ἵνα ” clause with a negative means that we avoid this result. In this case, the result is that our souls are not discouraged (“κάμητε”–aorist subjunctive with the “μὴ“) and we do not give up (“ἐκλυόμενοι”). Verbal correspondence also plays a role here. To translate give up as the colloquial “lose heart” introduces the term heart into a passage where it does not exist. Translators must be conscious not to bring terms, such as “heart” which has very particular meaning, into the discussion of souls not giving up. Furthermore, when translators translate the phrase “ἵνα μὴ ἀθυμῶσιν–similar negative clause” as “that they will not lose heart,” they introduce the term “heart” into a passage that does not contain that term (Colossians 3:21).  The problem also appears in Ephesians 3:13 with “μὴ ἐγκακεῖν” translated as “not to lose heart” ; and Galatians 6:9 with “μὴ ἐγκακῶμεν” translated as “not lose heart”; and 2 Corinthians 4:1, 16 with “οὐκ ἐγκακοῦμεν” not lose heart.
32 The verbs were “תִּגְעַ֣ל” and “וְגָעֲלָ֥ה” respectively.
33 Luke used the Greek phrase: “ἐτάραξαν ὑμᾶς λόγοις ἀνασκευάζοντες τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν” (Acts 15:24).
34 The Greek phrase was “ἐπήγειραν καὶ ἐκάκωσαν τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἐθνῶν κατὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν.” New Testament Greek has a nice word for embittered which is “πικραίνεσθε” (Colossians 3:19; see also Revelation 10:9 about honey and bitterness.) A very similar term “ἐκάκωσαν” occurred in Acts 7:19 where Luke said that Pharaoh mistreated our fathers so that  they would expose their infants.  The term “embittered” does not capture the actual acts involved with the word “ἐκάκωσαν.” So, verbal correspondence makes a big difference, again.
35 John used the phrase “αθὼς εὐοδοῦταί σου  ψυχή“.
36 Luke used the phrase “ἐπιστηρίζοντες τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν μαθητῶν“.
37 Paul wrote that “every soul” (“Πᾶσα ψυχὴ“) must “be in subjection” (“ὑποτασσέσθω“) to the authorities (“ἐξουσίαις”).
38 God ordered: Obey your leaders The souls of saints obey their leaders and  accept authority (“Πείθεσθε τοῖς ἡγουμένοις ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπείκετε“), for they attend to your souls as ones who render an account (“αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀγρυπνοῦσιν ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ὡς λόγον ἀποδώσοντες”).
39 Paul used the term “soul” (“ψυχῆς“) referring to soul and not the heart. Verbal correspondence requires the translation using the word soul; using the term heart means the translator has equated heart and soul and substituted his opinion for God’s word. Furthermore, if a translator believes heart and soul refer to the same thing, when why not leave the word soul in the translation?
40 Peter used the Greek term “παρατιθέσθωσαν” in the imperative with a dative following. In Mark 6:41, this same root word was used of giving the loaves to the disciples to set it before the people, using a similar verb with dative following (“παρατιθῶσιν αὐτοῖς“). Therefore, I prefer the translation “set before.”
41 Peter emphasized the ongoing nature of the torment with “ἐβασάνιζεν“–imperfect, active, indicative. The righteous soul experiences this continuous torment.
42 Peter used the term “δελεάζοντες“–present active participle. He also described souls as “ἀστηρίκτους“.
43 Jude described certain evil men as “Οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἀποδιορίζοντες, ψυχικοί, πνεῦμα μὴ ἔχοντες“.
44 Jonah used the phrase “וַיִּשְׁאַ֤ל אֶת־נַפְשֹׁו֙ לָמ֔וּת“.
45 The Greek word for “will” (“θέλῃ“) appears in the subjunctive mood, as part of a third class condition. People tend to try to save their own souls, but end up in Hell because they did not give up their lives to Jesus as Savior. The term destroy (“ἀπολέσει“) has strong associations with eternal destruction after the body dies on earth.
46 The Greek term for “destroy” (“ἀπολλύει“–present active indicative) emphasizes the ongoing nature of that destruction as you love your life in this world. Paul said if we hoped in this life only, then we are of all men most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:19).
47 The Greek includes present active participles related to the main verbs of destroys and guards.
48 Righteous people never shrink back to destruction (“ἀπώλειαν“–associated with destruction of the soul in the Afterlife, which only happens to unbelievers).
49 John wrote: “καὶ οὐκ ἠγάπησαν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἄχρι θανάτου“.
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