2 Corinthians 6:9

King James Version

As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
as unknown, yet recognized; as dying, yet see—we live; as being disciplined, yet not killed;

King James Version (1611)
As vnknowen, & yet wel knowen: as dying, and behold, we liue: as chastened, and not killed:

English Standard Version
as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed;

New American Standard Bible
as unknown and yet well known, as dying and yet behold, we are alive; as punished and yet not put to death,

New Century Version
We are not known, but we are well known. We seem to be dying, but we continue to live. We are punished, but we are not killed.

Amplified Bible
as unknown [to the world], yet well-known [by God and His people]; as dying, yet we live; as punished, yet not killed;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death,

Legacy Standard Bible
as unknown and yet well-known, as dying and yet behold, we live; as punished and yet not put to death,

Berean Standard Bible
as unknown, yet well-known; dying, and yet we live on; punished, yet not killed;

Contemporary English Version
We are unknown to others, but well known to you. We seem to be dying, and yet we are still alive. We have been punished, but never killed,

Complete Jewish Bible
unknown and famous. And we commend ourselves as God's workers headed for death, yet look! we're alive! as punished, yet not killed;

Darby Translation
as unknown, and well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as disciplined, and not put to death;

Easy-to-Read Version
To some people we are not known, but we are well known. We seem to be dying, but look! We continue to live. We are punished, but we are not killed.

Geneva Bible (1587)
As vnknowen, and yet knowen: as dying, and beholde, we liue: as chastened, and yet not killed:

George Lamsa Translation
As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as chastened, and not dying;

Good News Translation
as unknown, yet we are known by all; as though we were dead, but, as you see, we live on. Although punished, we are not killed;

Lexham English Bible
as unknown and yet known completely, as dying, and behold, we go on living, as disciplined, and yet not put to death,

Literal Translation
as unknown, and yet well known, as dying, and yet , look, we live; as flogged, and yet not put to death;

American Standard Version
as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

Bible in Basic English
Unnoted, but still kept fully in mind; as near to death, but still living; as undergoing punishment, but not put to death;

Hebrew Names Version
as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and not killed;

International Standard Version
as unknown and yet well-known, as dying and yet - as you see - very much alive, as punished and yet not killed,Psalm 118:18; 1 Corinthians 4:9; 2 Corinthians 1:9; 5:11; 11:6;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
as unknown, and yet we are known; as dead, yet, lo, we live; as chastened, yet we die not;

Murdock Translation
as not known, and yet we are well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as chastised, yet not killed;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
As vnknowen, and yet knowen, as dying, and beholde we lyue, as chastened, and not kylled,

English Revised Version
as unknown, and [yet] well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

World English Bible
as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and not killed;

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
as dying, yet behold we live; as chastened, yet not killed;

Weymouth's New Testament
as obscure persons, and yet are well known; as on the point of death, and yet, strange to tell, we live; as under God's discipline, and yet we are not deprived of life;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
as men diynge, and lo! we lyuen; as chastisid, and not maad deed;

Update Bible Version
as unknown, and [yet] well known; as dying, and look, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

Webster's Bible Translation
As unknown, and [yet] well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

New English Translation
as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying and yet—see!—we continue to live; as those who are scourged and yet not executed;

New King James Version
as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed;

New Living Translation
We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed.

New Life Bible
Some men act as if they do not know us. And yet we are known by everyone. They act as if we were dead, but we are alive. They try to hurt and destroy us, but they are not able to kill us.

New Revised Standard
as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
as unknown, and yet well-known, as dying, and lo! we live, as disciplined, and yet not put to death,

Douay-Rheims Bible
As dying and behold we live: as chastised and not killed:

Revised Standard Version
as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
as unknowen and yet knowen: as dyinge and beholde we yet live: as chastened and not killed:

Young's Literal Translation
as unknown, and recognized; as dying, and lo, we live; as chastened, and not put to death;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
as vnknowne, and yet knowne: as dyenge, and beholde, we lyue: as chastened, and not kylled:

Mace New Testament (1729)
as unknown, and yet celebrated; as dying, and yet I am alive; as chastised, but not slain;

Simplified Cowboy Version
We are shunned everywhere we go. They act like they don't know us, but they do. We ride the canyon edge of death every single day, but nonetheless, here we are. They've stomped a mud hole in us, but they ain't been able to kill us yet.

Contextual Overview

¹ We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. ² (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) ³ Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: ⁴ But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, ⁵ In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; ⁶ By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, ⁷ By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, ⁸ By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; ⁹ As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; ¹⁰ As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

unknown: Acts 17:18, Acts 21:37, Acts 21:38, Acts 25:14, Acts 25:15, Acts 25:19, Acts 25:26, 1 Corinthians 4:9

well: 2 Corinthians 4:2, 2 Corinthians 5:11, 2 Corinthians 11:6, Acts 19:26, Romans 15:19, Galatians 1:22-24

behold: 2 Corinthians 1:8-10, 2 Corinthians 4:10, 2 Corinthians 4:11, Romans 8:36, 1 Corinthians 4:9, 1 Corinthians 15:31

as chastened: Psalms 118:17, Psalms 118:18, 1 Corinthians 11:32

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 25:11 - whom Acts 14:20 - as Acts 19:23 - there Acts 28:3 - fastened Romans 5:4 - patience 1 Corinthians 15:30 - General 2 Corinthians 11:23 - in deaths 2 Corinthians 13:7 - as reprobates Revelation 3:19 - many

Cross-References

Genesis 2:4
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

Genesis 5:1
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

Genesis 5:22
And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

Genesis 5:24
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Genesis 6:9
These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Genesis 6:15
And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

Genesis 7:1
And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

Genesis 10:1
Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

Genesis 17:1
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

Genesis 48:15
And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

As unknown, and yet well known,.... Not unknown to Father, Son, and Spirit, or to one another, but to the world; and that not with respect to their outward estate, but their spiritual and eternal state; as that they were the chosen of God, the children of God, and born again; they knew not what a life they lived, or what they lived upon; and as they were unacquainted with their inward troubles, they were strangers to their spiritual joys here, and to what they shall partake of hereafter. Moreover, something more may be intended in this word "unknown"; as that they were not owned, esteemed, and approved of by them, but slighted, despised, hated, and persecuted:

and yet well known; to God the Father, who loved them with an everlasting love, chose them in Christ, gave them to him, made a covenant with him on their account, and sent his Son to redeem them, which knowledge of them is special, eternal, affectionate, approbative, and attended with care of them; well known to Jesus Christ, who knows all that are his, specially, distinctly, perfectly, and that from everlasting, bears a strong affection for them, takes great care of them, indulges them with intimate communion with him, and openly owns and acknowledges them as his own; well known to the Spirit of God, who enlightened and quickened them, regenerated and sanctified them, wrought faith and every other grace in them, witnessed their adoption to them, led them into all truth, filled and furnished them with his gifts, and dwelt in them, and abode with them, as the seal and earnest of their future glory; and were well known to the saints, and one another: they loved each other, delighted in each other's company; they knew each other's experiences, joys, and sorrows, and, in some measure, their hearts, and even their spiritual and eternal estate.

As dying, and behold we live. They were as dying men, having the seeds of mortality in them, being subject to diseases, which bring on death; and especially as they carried about with them the dying of the Lord Jesus, were continually exposed to death, and in danger of it, lived in the views of it, had the sentence of it in themselves, and were appointed to it. And "behold", to admiration "we live"; a natural life, which we have from God, depends upon hint, and is preserved by him amidst a thousand dangers and enemies to which it is exposed; and we live a spiritual life, a life of grace from Christ, a life of faith on him, and communion with him.

As chastened and not killed; "chastened" by men, and chastened by God; not in a way of vindictive wrath, but in a fatherly manner; but "not killed", or put to a corporeal death by our persecutors, who have sought to take away our lives, but have not yet been suffered to do it: or by the Lord, by the means of afflictions, the messengers of death; these sometimes bring very near it, and God chastens by them, but does not as yet give over to death, because our time is not yet come, and our work not yet done.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

As unknown - As those who are deemed to be of an obscure and ignoble rank in life, unknown to the great, unknown to fame. The idea, I think, is, that they went as strangers, as persons unknown, in preaching the gospel. Yet, though thus unknown they endeavor to commend themselves as the ministers of God. Though among strangers; though having no introduction from the great and the noble, yet they endeavored so to act as to convince the world that they were the ministers of God. This could he done only by a holy life, and by the evidence of the divine approbation which would attend them in their work. And by this, the ministers of religion, if they are faithful, may make themselves known even among those who were strangers, and may live so as to “give no offence.” Every minister and every Christian, even when they are “unknown” and when among strangers, should remember their high character as the servants of God, and should so live as to commend the religion which they profess to love, or which they are called on to preach. And yet how often is it that ministers when among strangers seem to feel themselves at liberty to lay aside their ministerial character, and to engage in conversation, and even partake of amusements which they themselves would regard as wholly improper if it were known that they were the ambassadors of God! And how often is it the case that professing Christians when traveling, when among strangers, when in foreign lands, forget their high calling, and conduct in a manner wholly different from what they did when surrounded by Christians; and when restrained by the sentiments and by the eyes of a Christian community!

And yet well known - Our sentiments and our principles are well known. We have no concealments to make. We practice no disguise. We attempt to impose on no one. Though obscure in our origin; though without rank, of wealth, or power, or patronage, to commend ourselves to favor, yet we have succeeded in making ourselves known to the world. Though obscure in our origin, we are not obscure now. Though suspected of dark designs, yet our principles are all well known to the world. No people of the same obscurity of birth ever succeeded in making themselves more extensively known than did the apostles. The world at large became acquainted with them; and by their self-denial, zeal, and success, they extended their reputation around the globe.

As dying - That is, regarded by others as dying. As condemned often to death; exposed to death; in the midst of trials that expose us to death, and that are ordinarily followed by death; see the note on 1 Corinthians 15:31, on the phrase, “I die daily.” They passed through so many trials that it might he said that they were constantly dying. “And, behold, we live.” Strange as it may seem, we still survive. Through all our trials we are preserved, and though often exposed to death, yet we still live. The idea here is, that in all these trials, and in these exposures to death, they endeavored to commend themselves as the ministers of God. They bore their trials with patience; submitted to these exposures without a complaint; and ascribed their preservation to the interposition of God.

As chastened - The word “chastened” (παιδευόμενοι paideuomenoi) means corrected, “chastised.” It is applied to the chastening which God causes by afflictions and calamities; 1 Corinthians 11:32; Revelation 3:19; Hebrews 12:6. It refers here, not to the scourgings to which they were subjected in the synagogues and elsewhere, but to the chastisements which God inflicted; the trials to which he subjected them. And the idea is, that in the midst of these trials, they endeavored to act as became the ministers of God. They bore them with patience. They submitted to them as coming from his hand. They felt that they were right; and they submitted without a complaint.

And not killed - Though severely chastened, yet we are not put to death. We survive them - preserved by the interposition of God.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Corinthians 6:9. As unknown — Persons who are to be suspected as harbouring dark designs; persons of neither birth, parentage, nor respectable connections in life;

And yet well known — Proved by our whole conduct to have no such designs, and demonstrated to be holy, upright, and useful, by the whole train of our peregrinations, through which we can be readily traced from place to place; having preached openly, and done nothing in a corner.

As dying — Through continual dangers, fatigues, and persecutions;

And, behold, we live — We are preserved by the mighty power of God in the greatest dangers and deaths.

As chastened — As though we were disobedient children;

And not killed — Though we continue in the very same line of conduct that is supposed to bring on us those chastisements, and which, if it were criminal, would justly expose us to death for incorrigible obstinacy; but our preservation is a proof that we please God.