2 Corinthians 1:9

Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Paul writes to the Corinthian congregation, recounting a past crisis in Asia (v. 8) where the burden exceeded his capacity and he despaired of life.

The words — ἀπόκριμα (apokrima) is a legal term for a formal verdict or sentence; Paul frames the crisis not as misfortune but as a death sentence handed down, which then forces the trust-shift to the one who raises the dead.

The thread — The same self-vs.-God contrast appears in 2 Corinthians 3:5 (competence from God, not self) and 4:7 (power from God, not the clay jars); the "raises the dead" clause echoes Hebrews 11:19, where Abraham's faith rests on God's power over death.

Why it lands — The verse does not offer comfort first; it removes self as a viable foundation and leaves only God's resurrection power as the ground of hope.

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

But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

Cross-references

2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
2 Corinthians 4:7 Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
Hebrews 11:19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Romans 4:17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.
2 Corinthians 12:7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
Job 40:14 Then I will confess to you that your own right hand can save you.
Psalms 44:5 Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.
Proverbs 28:26 He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.
Jeremiah 9:23 This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
Ezekiel 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones.