2 Corinthians 5:6 (DBY)

Passage

Therefore [we are] always confident, and know that while present in the body we are absent from the Lord,

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 5:4 For indeed we who are in the tabernacle groan, being burdened; while yet we do not wish to be unclothed, but clothed, that [what is] mortal may be swallowed up by life.

2 Corinthians 5:5 Now he that has wrought us for this very thing [is] God, who also has given to us the earnest of the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore [we are] always confident, and know that while present in the body we are absent from the Lord,

2 Corinthians 5:7 (for we walk by faith, not by sight;)

2 Corinthians 5:8 we are confident, I say, and pleased rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "always", "confident", "present", "body", "absent", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "always", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Now he that has wrought us for..." into verse 7's "for we walk by faith not by...", so "therefore" and "always" 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 "therefore" and "always" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.