2 Corinthians 4:8

4:8 We are experiencing trouble on every side, ¹  but are not crushed; we are perplexed, ²  but not driven to despair;

2 Corinthians 2:7

2:7 so that now instead ³  you should rather forgive and comfort him. ⁴  This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair. ⁵ 

2 Corinthians 4:16

4:16 Therefore we do not despair, ⁶  but even if our physical body ⁷  is wearing away, our inner person ⁸  is being renewed day by day.

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¹ tn Grk “we are hard pressed [by crowds] on every side.”

² tn Or “at a loss.”

³ tn Grk “so that on the other hand.”

⁴ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text but is supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted and must be supplied from the context.

⁵ tn Grk “comfort him, lest somehow such a person be swallowed up by excessive grief,” an idiom for a person being so overcome with grief as to despair or give up completely (L&N 25.285). In this context of excessive grief or regret for past sins, “overwhelmed” is a good translation since contemporary English idiom speaks of someone “overwhelmed by grief.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the difficulty of expressing a negative purpose/result clause in English, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁶ tn Or “do not lose heart.”

⁷ tn Grk “our outer man.”

⁸ tn Grk “our inner [man].”