2 Corinthians 5:13 (DBY)

Passage

For whether we are beside ourselves, [it is] to God; or are sober, [it is] for you.

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 5:11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men, but have been manifested to God, and I hope also that we have been manifested in your consciences.

2 Corinthians 5:12 [For] we do not again commend ourselves to you, but [we are] giving to you occasion of boast in our behalf, that ye may have [such] with those boasting in countenance, and not in heart.

2 Corinthians 5:13 For whether we are beside ourselves, [it is] to God; or are sober, [it is] for you.

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of the Christ constrains us, having judged this: that one died for all, then all have died;

2 Corinthians 5:15 and he died for all, that they who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who died for them and has been raised.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whether", "beside", "ourselves", and "sober". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whether" and "beside", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "For we do not again commend ourselves..." into verse 14's "For the love of the Christ constrains...", so "whether" and "beside" 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 "beside" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.