"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
— 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 is the "hard pressed on every side, but not crushed" passage, where Paul names four kinds of pressure and the line God does not let them cross. This page gives the verses, what the key words mean, where they sit in 2 Corinthians 4, and a plain reading. For more on the theme, see Bible verses about suffering, Bible verses for hard times, and Love and suffering.
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The verses
The King James reads: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed."
"Hard pressed" (KJV "troubled") is thlibo (G2346), to press or squeeze, and "crushed" (KJV "distressed") is stenochoreo (G4729), to be hemmed into a narrow place. "Perplexed" is aporeo (G639), to be at a loss, and "despair" is exaporeomai (G1820), to be utterly at a loss. "Persecuted" is dioko (G1377), "abandoned" (KJV "forsaken") is enkataleipo (G1459), "struck down" is kataballo (G2598), and "destroyed" is apollymi (G622).
Where it sits in 2 Corinthians 4
Just before, Paul writes, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Verses 8-9 show what that looks like: ordinary, breakable people under real pressure who keep being held.
Verse 10 follows: "We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." The chapter ends, "Therefore we do not lose heart" (2 Corinthians 4:16), and "our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2 Corinthians 4:17).
What the verses are saying
Paul does not pretend the pressure is small. He was squeezed, confused, hunted, and knocked down. Each time, though, he names a limit: not crushed, not in despair, not abandoned, not destroyed. The difference is not his toughness but God's power in a clay jar.
For anyone in a hard season, the passage gives honest words for both sides at once. It is fine to say "I am hard pressed" and "I am not crushed" in the same breath. Paul says something similar about his weakness: "my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Questions people ask
What does 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 say?
In the NIV it says, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
What does "hard pressed but not crushed" mean?
It means the pressure is real but it has a limit. The Greek pictures being squeezed on every side without being shut into a space with no way out.
What is the "treasure in jars of clay"?
In verse 7 the treasure is the light of the gospel and God's power, and the jars of clay are ordinary, fragile people. The point is that the power is "from God and not from us."
What comes after 2 Corinthians 4:8-9?
Verse 10 says Paul carries "the death of Jesus" so that "the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." Verse 16 adds, "Therefore we do not lose heart."
What verses go with 2 Corinthians 4:8-9?
2 Corinthians 4:17 (light and momentary troubles), Romans 8:18 (present sufferings not worth comparing), and 1 Peter 5:10 (God will restore you) are close companions.
