Most English versions of the New Testament simply use the word “life” in this verse. “For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it.” The Greek word translated as soul-life in Matthew 16:25 is psuche: The English word biology comes from bios. “And that which fell into the thorns, these are those who heard and, going away, are utterly choked by anxieties and riches and pleasures of this life, and do not bring any fruit to maturity.”īios here refers to the life of the physical body. The Greek word translated as life in Luke 8:14 is bios: Let’s see some examples where bios, psuche, and zoe appear in the New Testament. In this post, we’ll explore the meaning of each of these three Greek words for life using verses and notes from the New Testament Recovery Version, with a special focus on zoe. So if we want to know which meaning life has in a particular verse, we need to know which Greek word is being used.

These words have different meanings, but they’re all translated into English as life. For example, there are three Greek words for life used in the New Testament: bios, psuche, and zoe. The New Testament was originally written in Greek, a language richer than English in the diversity and complexity of its vocabulary. But have you ever wondered what this word means? For instance, when Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly,” was He saying He would help us have a better life, or that He would enrich or improve our life? The word life appears numerous times in the New Testament.

Other words for save our existence