Jesus said that it is best to cut off a hand or foot, and pluck out an eye than have the whole body through into the fire.
Mark 9:49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.
Mark 9:49 Everyone will be salted with fire.
Because everyone will be seasoned by a fire.
What is the fire that pays us or preserve us?
πᾶς γὰρ πυρὶ ἁλισθήσεται.
everyone Because by a fire will be seasoned
The Greek source we use today is much shorter than the Greek source used by the KJV translators (see this article for an explanation of differences). The difference between the two could reflect the desire, first in the Latin Vulgate and later in St. Jerome's Greek version, to explain this verse. The meaning of this phrase in the original Greek is determined by one uncommon verb, that can mean either "be gathered together" or "be salted." The connection may have been that salt preserved things that were gathered together. However, the form of the word "fire" also leaves its meaning in this phrase open to question.
"Salted" also has the sense of preserving. Before reading this post, you may want to read this earlier post on the meaning of salt in Christ's time.
The word "fire" can also have two meanings. It can be the fire of the trash dumb, that destroys useless material things. Or it can be the fire of sacrifice, that hurts the flesh but strengthens the spirit. See this article on the meaning of fire in Jesus's time.
So this short verse could mean many seemingly contradictory things:
Everyone, consequently, is going to be gathered by fire.
Everyone, consequently, is going to be preserved in sacrifice.
Everyone, consequently, is going to be preserve with material destruction.
- OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt." existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "because" is not shown in the English translation.
For --The word translated as "for" introduces a reason or explanation so "because" and, in questions, "why." However, since this word always appears in the second position, it is more like an aside remark like, "consequently" or "as a cause".
every one -- The word translated as "all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all", "the whole", "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything." Here, the form is singular, masculine, so "everyone."
shall -- Here, this reflect the future tense of the verb, but "shall" is also commonly used to translate verbs that are not the future tense.
be -- This comes from the passve form of the verb.
salted -- The word translated as "salted" is a play on words, and, one that only works in Greek. The Greek verb means "to salt" as in salting food, but it is also means "to gather together" and, in the future passive, as it is here, "going to be gathered together" or "going to be salted."
with -- This word comes from the dative case of the following word( that requires the addition of a preposition in English: a "to" as an indirect object, a "with" for instruments, an "in" for locations, an "as" for purposes, an "of" for possession, a "by" for agents, an "as" for comparisons, and an "in" for area of effect. In the KJV, the translation makes fire an instrument, but it could also be a location, so "in a fire" or a purpose "as a fire."
fire, -- "Fire" is a noun that means "fire", "sacrificial fire", "funeral fire", and so on, but Jesus only uses this word to describe the fire of a trash dump. He usually uses it with the word that is translated as "hell" but which was the name of the burning trash dump outside of Jerusalem. Judeans, however, also heard this as the fire of sacrifice, which explains the later additions to this verse.
and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. -- (OS) The Greek source for these words does not exist in today's source, but this idea is from the fact that the word used for "fire" is also used for sacrificial fires.
be salted with fire.
missing "because" -- (MW) The untranslated word "for" introduces a reason or explanation so "because" and, in questions, "why." However, since this word always appears in the second position, it is more like an aside remark like, "consequently" or "as a cause".
Everyone -- The word translated as "all" is the Greek adjective meaning "all", "the whole", "every," and similar ideas. When it is used as a noun, we would say "everything." Here, the form is singular, masculine, so "everyone."
will -- Here, this reflect the future tense of the verb, but "will" is also commonly used to translate verbs that are not the future tense.
be -- This comes from the passve form of the verb.
salted -- The word translated as "salted" is a play on words, and, one that only works in Greek. The Greek verb means "to salt" as in salting food, but it is also means "to gather together" and, in the future passive, as it is here, "going to be gathered together" or "going to be salted."
with -- This word comes from the dative case of the following word( that requires the addition of a preposition in English: a "to" as an indirect object, a "with" for instruments, an "in" for locations, an "as" for purposes, an "of" for possession, a "by" for agents, an "as" for comparisons, and an "in" for area of effect. In the KJV, the translation makes fire an instrument, but it could also be a location, so "in a fire" or a purpose "as a fire."
fire, -- "Fire" is a noun that means "fire", "sacrificial fire", "funeral fire", and so on, but Jesus only uses this word to describe the fire of a trash dump. He usually uses it with the word that is translated as "hell" but which was the name of the burning trash dump outside of Jerusalem. Judeans, however, also heard this as the fire of sacrifice, which explains the later additions to this verse.
πᾶς [212 verses] ( adj sg masc nom ) "Everyone" is pas, which means "all", "the whole", "every", "anyone", "all kinds," and "anything." In the adverbial form, it means "every way", "on every side", "in every way," and "altogether."
γὰρ [205 verses](partic) "For" comes from gar which is the introduction of a clause explaining a reason or explanation: "for", "since," and "as." In an abrupt question, it means "why" and "what."
πυρὶ [14 verses]( noun sg neut dat ) "Fire" is pyr (pur), which means "fire", "sacrificial fire", "funeral fire", "hearth-fire", "lightning", "the light of torches," and "heat of fever."
ἁλισθήσεται. [2 verses] ( verb 3rd sg fut ind pass ) "Shall be salted" is from halizo, a word that has two meanings. Its primary meaning is "to gather together", in the passive, "be gathered together," "assemble' (of military forces), "collect" of fragments, and "amassing into a globe." Its second meaning is "to salt", in the passive, "to be salted", "to provide salt," and "to salt food."