2 Corinthians 4:8 (ASV)

Passage

[we are] pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair;

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 4:6 Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves;

2 Corinthians 4:8 [we are] pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair;

2 Corinthians 4:9 pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed;

2 Corinthians 4:10 always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "pressed", "side", "straitened", "perplexed", and "despair". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "pressed" and "side", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "But we have this treasure in earthen..." into verse 9's "pursued yet not forsaken smitten down yet...", so "pressed" and "side" 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 "pressed" and "side" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.