19 Bible Verses about Keeping Oneself Alive

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, These are the words of the Lord, the God of armies, the God of Israel: If you go out to the king of Babylon's captains, then you will have life, and the town will not be burned with fire, and you and your family will be kept from death:

He who keeps in this town will come to his death by the sword and through need of food and through disease; but he who goes out and gives himself up to the Chaldaeans who are shutting you in, will go on living, and will keep his life safe.

These are the words of the Lord: Whoever goes on living in this town will come to his death by the sword or through need of food or by disease: but whoever goes out to the Chaldaeans will keep his life out of the power of the attackers and be safe.

And I said all this to Zedekiah, king of Judah, saying, Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and become his servants and his people, so that you may keep your lives.

Give no attention to them; become servants of the king of Babylon and keep yourselves from death: why let this town become a waste?

This town, now, is near, and it is a little one: O, let me go there (is it not a little one?) so that my life may be safe.

So now, let me make a suggestion, so that you may keep your life safe and the life of your son Solomon.

But if you say to the upright man that he is not to do evil, he will certainly keep his life because he took note of your word; and your life will be safe.

But if you give the evil-doer word of his danger, and he is not turned from his sin or from his evil way, death will overtake him in his evil-doing; but your life will be safe.

Because with your false words you have given pain to the heart of the upright man when I had not made him sad; in order to make strong the hands of the evil-doer so that he may not be turned from his evil way and get life:

Till I come and take you away to a land like yours, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vine-gardens, a land of oil-giving olives and of honey, so that life and not death may be your fate. Give no attention to Hezekiah when he says to you, The Lord will keep us safe.

And the bowman will not keep his place; he who is quick-footed will not get away safely: and the horseman will not keep his life.

And flight will be impossible for the quick-footed, and the force of the strong will become feeble, and the man of war will not get away safely:

So I say to you, Take no thought for your life, about food or drink, or about clothing for your body. Is not life more than food, and the body more than its clothing?

For whoever has a desire to keep his life will have it taken from him, but whoever gives up his life because of me, will keep it.

He who has the desire to keep his life will have it taken from him, and he who gives up his life because of me will have it given back to him.

Whoever has a desire to keep his life, will have it taken from him; and whoever gives up his life because of me and the good news, will keep it.

If anyone makes an attempt to keep his life, it will be taken from him, but if anyone gives up his life, he will keep it.

By going through all these things, you will keep your lives.