κερδαίνω

Matthew 16:26 κερδήσῃ, he shall gain,

What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Here: Trading and business language: to come out ahead, to turn a profit. The aorist subjunctive presents the whole gain as one completed result.

Matthew 18:15 ἐκέρδησας you have gained

If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

Here: A word from trade: 'you have made a gain'. The past tense after an 'if' clause speaks of the result as already done. The moment he listens, the brother is won back. It is the reverse of 'perish/be lost' in v.14.

Matthew 25:16 ἐκέρδησεν he gained

The servant who had received the five talents went at once and put them to work and gained five more.

Matthew 25:17 ἐκέρδησεν gained

Likewise, the one with the two talents gained two more.

Here: A business word: he made a profit. The past tense used here (the aorist) sums up the whole venture as one finished result. It does not describe the process. Verse 16 has already said that he 'worked' or traded with the money.

Matthew 25:20 ἐκέρδησα I gained

The servant who had received the five talents came and presented five more. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

Here: "I gained / I made a profit of." This is the ordinary word for commercial gain. The past tense presents the result as finished, and it matches v.16, where he "went and traded with them and gained five more."

Matthew 25:22 ἐκέρδησα I gained

The servant who had received the two talents also came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more.’

Here: 'I gained / made a profit'. It is a trading word that picks up v16–17, where the servants 'worked with' the money. The past tense presents the gain as a finished result.

Mark 8:36 κερδῆσαι to gain

What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

Here: A trading word: to come out ahead, to earn a profit, as the servants in Matthew 25:16 'gained' five more talents. The aorist infinitive pictures the gain as one completed deal.

Luke 9:25 κερδήσας having gained

What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?

Here: Aorist participle, 'having gained'. It is a trader's word for profit. The aorist pictures the deal as finished and the profit already made, as if looking back from the day the accounts are settled.

Acts 27:21 κερδῆσαί to have incurred

After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete. Then you would have averted this disaster and loss.

1 Corinthians 9:19 κερδήσω· I may gain;

Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.

Here: A business word for making a profit. It follows straight on from verses 17–18, which talk about a wage (μισθός). Paul takes no wage, but he does want a "profit", and the profit is people. In early Christian use it means winning someone to the faith or to the community (compare Matthew 18:15, 1 Peter 3:1).

1 Corinthians 9:20 κερδήσω· κερδήσω· I may win;

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law.

Here: 'I might gain.' A word from trade and profit, picking up the money language of verses 15–18 (pay, reward, 'free of charge'). Paul gave up his right to be paid, and the 'profit' he wants is people won to Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:21 κερδάνω I may win

To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law.

Here: 'I may gain'. It is the language of profit, and it plays on the chapter's theme of pay. Paul refuses wages for preaching (9:15–18), but there is a 'gain' he does want: people won to Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:22 κερδήσω· I may win;

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.

Here: A commercial word for making a profit. Paul has just said he refuses wages (vv. 15–18), and here the 'profit' he wants is people. With believers it can mean keeping or winning back a brother, as in Matthew 18:15. It is the fifth time the verb appears in vv. 19–22.

Philippians 3:8 κερδήσω, I may gain

More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Here: 'I may gain.' This closes the ledger: the 'gains' of verse 7 were written off so that Christ himself becomes the gain. Verse 9 ('and be found in him') shows it looks ahead to the final reckoning.

James 4:13 κερδήσομεν· will make a profit;

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”

Here: The end point of the plan, stated as a certainty: “and we will make a profit.” They take the outcome for granted as surely as the journey.

1 Peter 3:1 κερδηθήσονται, they will be gained,

Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives

Here: 'They will be gained/won', a future passive. Originally a commercial word for making a profit. Early Christians used it for winning someone to the faith (1 Cor 9:19–22; Matt 18:15).