persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
Parallel translations
- WEB pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed;
- KJV Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
- NKJV persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
- NASB persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed;
- NLT We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul is persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed. God's faithful presence preserves him through every assault.
Overview
Continuing the contrasts, Paul affirms that even when hunted and knocked down, he is never forsaken by God or finally ruined. His survival testifies to God's sustaining power rather than his own resilience. This resilience-in-weakness embodies the pattern of dying and rising with Christ that he describes in the following verses.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Isa 43:2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.
- Mic 7:8Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
- Ps 37:24–25Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.
- Prov 24:16For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.
- Ps 42:11Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
- Isa 62:4No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be His bride.
- Heb 13:5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
- 2 Cor 7:6But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus,
- Ps 37:28For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
- Ps 9:10Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
- Job 5:17–19Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
- Ps 42:5Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence.
- John 15:20Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.
- Ps 22:1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
- Job 22:29When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then He will save the lowly.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 4:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.