2 Corinthians 4:9

Contemporary English Version

In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.

King James Version (1611)
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast downe, but not destroyed.

King James Version
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

English Standard Version
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

New American Standard Bible
persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed;

New Century Version
We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed.

Amplified Bible
hunted down and persecuted, but not deserted [to stand alone]; struck down, but never destroyed;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

Legacy Standard Bible
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

Berean Standard Bible
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

Complete Jewish Bible
persecuted, yet not abandoned; knocked down, yet not destroyed.

Darby Translation
persecuted, but not abandoned; cast down, but not destroyed;

Easy-to-Read Version
We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed.

Geneva Bible (1587)
We are persecuted, but not forsaken: cast downe, but we perish not.

George Lamsa Translation
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

Good News Translation
there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed.

Lexham English Bible
persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed;

Literal Translation
being persecuted, but not being forsaken; being thrown down, but not having been destroyed;

American Standard Version
pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed;

Bible in Basic English
We are cruelly attacked, but not without hope; we are made low, but we are not without help;

Hebrew Names Version
pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed;

International Standard Version
persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed.Psalm 37:24;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
persecuted, yet not forsaken; cast down, yet we perish not.

Murdock Translation
we are persecuted, but not forsaken; we are prostrated, but perish not.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
We suffer persecution, but are not forsaken therin. We are cast downe, but we perisshe not.

English Revised Version
pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed;

World English Bible
pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed;

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; thrown down, but not destroyed;

Weymouth's New Testament
pursued, yet never left unsuccoured; struck to the ground, yet never slain;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
but we ben not forsakun; we ben maad lowe, but we ben not confoundid; we ben cast doun, but we perischen not.

Update Bible Version
pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed;

Webster's Bible Translation
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

New English Translation
we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed,

New King James Version
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed--

New Living Translation
We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

New Life Bible
People make it hard for us, but we are not left alone. We are knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

New Revised Standard
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Pursued, but not abandoned, thrown down, but not destroyed; -

Douay-Rheims Bible
We suffer persecution: but are not forsaken. We are cast down: but we perish not.

Revised Standard Version
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
We are persecuted: but are not forsake. We are cast doune: neverthelesse we perisshe not.

Young's Literal Translation
persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
We are persecuted, but we are not forsaken. We are oppressed, neuertheles we perish not.

Mace New Testament (1729)
persecuted, but not forsaken; dejected, but not destroyed;

Simplified Cowboy Version
People are always out to get us, but God never leaves our side. We might get knocked down, but we always get up.

Contextual Overview

⁸ We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don't know what to do, we never give up. ⁹ In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again. ¹⁰We face death every day because of Jesus. Our bodies show what his death was like, so that his life can also be seen in us. ¹² This means that death is working in us, but life is working in you. ¹³ In the Scriptures it says, "I spoke because I had faith." We have that same kind of faith. So we speak ¹⁴ because we know that God raised the Lord Jesus to life. And just as God raised Jesus, he will also raise us to life. Then he will bring us into his presence together with you. ¹⁵ All of this has been done for you, so that more and more people will know how kind God is and will praise and honor him. ¹⁶ We never give up. Our bodies are gradually dying, but we ourselves are being made stronger each day. ¹⁷ These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing. ¹⁸ Things that are seen don't last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. That's why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

but: Psalms 9:10, Psalms 22:1, Psalms 37:25, Psalms 37:28, Isaiah 62:4, Hebrews 13:5

cast: 2 Corinthians 7:6, Job 5:17-19, Job 22:29, Psalms 37:24, Psalms 42:5, Psalms 42:11, Isaiah 43:2

Reciprocal: Judges 8:4 - faint Judges 15:18 - he was sore 1 Samuel 2:4 - stumbled Job 19:10 - destroyed Psalms 25:17 - General Psalms 62:2 - I shall Psalms 102:10 - thou hast Jeremiah 38:6 - into Acts 16:25 - sang Acts 20:24 - none Acts 27:22 - I exhort Hebrews 12:5 - nor faint

Cross-References

Genesis 4:4
and Abel also gave an offering to the Lord . He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the Lord the best parts of it. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,

Genesis 4:9
Afterwards the Lord asked Cain, "Where is Abel?" "How should I know?" he answered. "Am I supposed to look after my brother?"

Genesis 4:11
And so, I'll put you under a curse. Because you killed Abel and made his blood run out on the ground, you will never be able to farm the land again.

Genesis 4:13
"This punishment is too hard!" Cain said.

Genesis 4:14
"You're making me leave my home and live far from you. I will have to wander about without a home, and just anyone could kill me."

Genesis 37:32
After this, they took the coat to their father and said, "We found this! Look at it carefully and see if it belongs to your son."

Psalms 9:12
You did not forget to punish the guilty or listen to the cries of those in need.

Proverbs 28:13
If you don't confess your sins, you will be a failure. But God will be merciful if you confess your sins and give them up.

John 8:44
Your father is the devil, and you do exactly what he wants. He has always been a murderer and a liar. There is nothing truthful about him. He speaks on his own, and everything he says is a lie. Not only is he a liar himself, but he is also the father of all lies.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Persecuted, but not forsaken,.... Pursued from place to place, and followed with menaces, curses, and reproaches; laid hold on, proscribed, imprisoned, and threatened with the severest tortures, and death itself; but our God never leaves us nor forsakes us; though we are followed close by evil men, and left by our friends, we are not forsaken of God:

cast down we sometimes are, as an earthen vessel; 2 Corinthians 4:7, which may be cast out of a man's hands, in order to be dashed to pieces; or as a man in wrestling, see Ephesians 6:12 may be thrown to the ground by his antagonist, so we are sometimes foiled by sin, Satan, and the world:

but not destroyed; we are still safe in the hands of Christ, and are kept by the power of God; and, indeed, to what else can all this be ascribed? it is surprising that earthen vessels should bear and suffer so much, and not fall, or be dashed to pieces.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Persecuted - Often persecuted, persecuted in all places. The Book of Acts shows how true this was.

But not forsaken - Not deserted; nor left by God Though persecuted by people, yet they experi enced the fulfillment of the divine promise that he would never leave nor forsake them. God always interposed to aid them; always saved them from the power of their enemies; always sustained them in the time of persecution. It is still true. His people have been often persecuted. Yet God has often interposed to save them from the hands of their enemies; and where he has not saved them from their hands, and preserved their lives, yet he has never left them, but has sustained, upheld, and comforted them even in the dreadful agonies of death.

Cast down - Thrown down by our enemies, perhaps in allusion to the contests of wrestlers, or of gladiators.

But not destroyed - Not killed. They rose again; they recovered their strength; they were prepared for new conflicts. They surmounted every difficulty, and were ready to engage in new strifes, and to meet new trials and persecutions.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Corinthians 4:9. Persecuted, but not forsaken — Διωκομενοι, αλλ' ουκ εγκαταλειπομενοι. The διωκομενοι, pursued, is peculiar to the δρομος, or race, when one being foremost others pursue, and get up close after him, endeavouring to outstrip him, but cannot succeed: this is the meaning of ουκ εγκαταλειπομενοι, not outstripped, or outgone, as the word implies. So in PLUTARCH: τους απολειφθεντας ου στεφανουσι, they do not crown them that are distanced or left behind. So says the apostle, 1 Corinthians 9:24: All run, but only ONE receiveth the PRIZE.

Cast down, but not destroyed. — Καταβαλλομενοι αλλ' ουκ απολλυμενοι. This also belongs to wrestlers, where he that throws the other first is conqueror. And so Hesychius: καταβαλει, νικησει, ῥιψει, to cast down is to overcome, to throw. And then, the being not destroyed signifies that, although they were thrown down-cast into troubles and difficulties, yet they rose again, and surmounted them all.