2 Corinthians 1:4 (WEB)

Passage

who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

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, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, even so our comfort also abounds through Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "comforts", "affliction", "able", "through", and "ourselves". 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 as the sufferings of Christ abound...", 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.