2 Corinthians 4:17 (LSB)

Passage

For our momentary, light affliction is working out for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our momentary, light affliction is working out for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

2 Corinthians 4:18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "momentary", "affliction", "working", "eternal", "weight", "glory", and "beyond". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "momentary", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Therefore we do not lose heart but..." into verse 18's "while we look not at the things...", so "light" and "momentary" 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 "light" and "momentary" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.