Exegesis:

hos ean zētēsē tēn psuchēn autou peripoiēsasthai ‘whoever tries to preserve his life.’ For zēteō in this meaning cf. on 5.18.

peripoieō ‘to preserve,’ ‘to save,’ here in the middle voice, implying that the preserving is to the benefit of the subject of the clause.

hos d’ an apolesē zōogenēsei autēn ‘but whoever loses (it) will preserve it.’ hos d’ an apolesē may mean either, ‘he who is prepared to lose,’ or, ‘he who actually loses,’ preferably the latter.

zōogoneō ‘to preserve alive.’

Translation:

The verse closely parallels 9.24, which see.

Seeks (cf. 5.18) differs from the verb used in 9.24 in that it implies some effort.

Gain his life (or, ‘cling to his life,’ Navajo) and preserve it are closely synonymous, and they parallel ‘save his life’ in 9.24; the renderings of the three verbs coincide in several versions, e.g. Good News Translation, Sranan Tongo, Tae.’

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.