2 Corinthians 1:6 (KJV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

2 Corinthians 1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:6 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.

2 Corinthians 1:7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

2 Corinthians 1:8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whether", "afflicted", "consolation", "salvation", "effectual", "enduring", "same", and "sufferings". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whether" and "afflicted", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "For as the sufferings of Christ abound..." into verse 7's "And our hope of you is stedfast...", so "whether" and "afflicted" belong inside that flow. In 2 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "whether" and "afflicted" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.