Passage
who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:4 (LSB)
Nearby Context
2 Corinthians 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:5 For just as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:6 But whether we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or whether we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is working in your perseverance in the same sufferings which we also suffer.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "comforts", "affliction", "able", "ourselves", and "comforted". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "comforts" and "affliction", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Blessed be the God and Father of..." into verse 5's "For just as the sufferings of Christ...", so "comforts" and "affliction" 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 "comforts" and "affliction" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.