2 Corinthians 1:6

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian congregation while explaining the purpose behind his current hardships and the relief he receives. He frames his ministry as a deliberate exchange of suffering and consolation for their spiritual benefit.

The words — θλιβόμεθα (thlibometha) means "we are constricted," and παρακλήσεως (paraklēseōs) translates to "comfort." These terms establish the structural link between the apostle's distress and the community's relief.

The thread — The same exchange of suffering and consolation appears in 2 Corinthians 1:5 and 2 Corinthians 1:7, while 2 Timothy 2:10 and 2 Corinthians 4:15 parallel the theme of enduring hardship for the spiritual gain of others.

Why it lands — The text states that affliction and comfort are not personal endpoints but instruments designed to produce patient endurance in others. Readers must accept their own trials as functional to the spiritual stability of the community rather than as isolated misfortunes.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

Cross-references

2 Timothy 2:10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of the elect, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
2 Corinthians 4:15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow, to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Romans 8:28 And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
Ephesians 3:13 So I ask you not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
Philippians 1:19 because I know that through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, my distress will turn out for my deliverance.
2 Corinthians 5:5 And it is God who has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
2 Corinthians 12:15 And for the sake of your souls, I will most gladly spend my money and myself. If I love you more, will you love me less?
Hebrews 12:10 Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
Romans 5:3 Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;