New International Version
2 Corinthians 4:8
8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
2 Corinthians 4:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
- English Standard Version (ESV)We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
- New King James Version (NKJV)We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
- New Living Translation (NLT)We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.
Context of 2 Corinthians 4:8
6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
Read all of 2 Corinthians 42 Corinthians 4:8 word by word
ἐν παντὶ θλιβόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐ στενοχωρούμενοι, ἀπορούμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐξαπορούμενοι,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 2 Corinthians 4:8
- 2 Corinthians 1:8We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.
- 2 Corinthians 6:4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;
- 2 Corinthians 7:5For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within.
- 2 Corinthians 11:23Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.
- 2 Corinthians 4:16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
- 2 Corinthians 12:10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
- 1 Samuel 28:15Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” “I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
- 1 Samuel 30:6David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.
- Psalms 56:2My adversaries pursue me all day long; in their pride many are attacking me.
- Proverbs 14:26Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.
- Proverbs 18:10The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
- Romans 5:3Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
- Romans 8:35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
- James 1:2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
- 1 Peter 1:6In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
- 1 Peter 4:12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 4:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8We are troubled on every side - We have already seen, in the notes on the ninth chapter of the preceding epistle, that St. Paul has made several allusions to those public games which were celebrated every fifth year at the Isthmus of Corinth; and those games have been in that place particularly described. In this and the three following verses the apostle makes allusion to the contests at those games; and the terms which he employs in these verses cannot…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8We are troubled - We the apostles. Paul here refers to some of the trials to which he and his fellow laborers were subjected in making known the gospel. The “design” for which he does it seems to be to show them: (1)What they endured in preaching the truth; (2)To show the sustaining power of that gospel in the midst of afflictions; and, (3)To conciliate their favor, or to remind them that they had endured these things on their account, 2 Corinthians…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-12Verses 8-12 The apostles were great sufferers, yet they met with wonderful support. Believers may be forsaken of their friends, as well as persecuted by enemies; but their God will never leave them nor forsake them. There may be fears within, as well as fightings without; yet we are not destroyed. The apostle speaks of their sufferings as a counterpart of the sufferings of Christ, that people might see the power of Christ's resurrection, and of grace in…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Greek, "BEING hard pressed, yet not inextricably straitened; reduced to inextricable straits" (nominative to "we have," 2Co 4:7). on every side--Greek, "in every respect" (compare 2Co 4:10, "always"; 2Co 7:5). This verse expresses inward distresses; 2Co 4:9, outward distresses (2Co 7:5). "Without were fightings; within were fears." The first clause in each member of the series of contrasted participles, implies the earthiness of the vessels; the second…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Corinthians 4:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries