2 Corinthians 4:9

Good News Translation

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

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.

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

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;

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 are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; ⁹ there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed. ¹⁰ At all times we carry in our mortal bodies the death of Jesus, so that his life also may be seen in our bodies. ¹¹ Throughout our lives we are always in danger of death for Jesus' sake, in order that his life may be seen in this mortal body of ours. ¹² This means that death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. ¹³ The scripture says, "I spoke because I believed." In the same spirit of faith we also speak because we believe. ¹⁴ We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus to life, will also raise us up with Jesus and take us, together with you, into his presence. ¹⁵ All this is for your sake; and as God's grace reaches more and more people, they will offer to the glory of God more prayers of thanksgiving. ¹⁶ For this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day. ¹⁷ And this small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble.

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
Then Abel brought the first lamb born to one of his sheep, killed it, and gave the best parts of it as an offering. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,

Genesis 4:9
The Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He answered, "I don't know. Am I supposed to take care of my brother?"

Genesis 4:11
You are placed under a curse and can no longer farm the soil. It has soaked up your brother's blood as if it had opened its mouth to receive it when you killed him.

Genesis 4:13
And Cain said to the Lord , "This punishment is too hard for me to bear.

Genesis 4:14
You are driving me off the land and away from your presence. I will be a homeless wanderer on the earth, and anyone who finds me will kill me."

Genesis 37:32
They took the robe to their father and said, "We found this. Does it belong to your son?"

Psalms 9:12
God remembers those who suffer; he does not forget their cry, and he punishes those who wrong them.

Proverbs 28:13
You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up; then God will show mercy to you.

John 8:44
You are the children of your father, the Devil, and you want to follow your father's desires. From the very beginning he was a murderer and has never been on the side of truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what is natural to him, because he is a liar and 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.