2 Corinthians 4:1

Paul’s Perseverance in Ministry

4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as God has shown us mercy, ¹  we do not become discouraged. ² 

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

4:8 We are experiencing trouble on every side, ³  but are not crushed; we are perplexed, ⁴  but not driven to despair; 4:9 we are persecuted, but not abandoned; ⁵  we are knocked down, ⁶  but not destroyed,

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

4:16 Therefore we do not despair, ⁷  but even if our physical body ⁸  is wearing away, our inner person ⁹  is being renewed day by day. 4:17 For our momentary, light suffering ¹⁰  is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison 4:18 because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

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¹ tn Grk “just as we have been shown mercy”; ἠλεήθημεν (hlehqhmen) has been translated as a “divine passive” which is a circumlocution for God as the active agent. For clarity this was converted to an active construction with God as subject in the translation.

² tn Or “we do not lose heart.”

³ tn Grk “we are hard pressed [by crowds] on every side.”

⁴ tn Or “at a loss.”

⁵ tn Or “forsaken.”

⁶ tn Or “badly hurt.” It is possible to interpret καταβαλλόμενοι (kataballomenoi) here as “badly hurt”: “[we are] badly hurt, but not destroyed” (L&N 20.21).

⁷ tn Or “do not lose heart.”

⁸ tn Grk “our outer man.”

⁹ tn Grk “our inner [man].”

¹⁰ tn Grk “momentary lightness of affliction.”