Greek word · G1820

ἐξαπορέω

exaporeō

to despair

An intensified form of aporeō: to be utterly at a loss, completely without a way or resources, to despair. In the NT only here and 2 Cor 1:8.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 22, 2026

What it means

ἐξ-απορέω, -ῶ

[in LXX, pass., for פּוּן, Psalms 88:15 * ;]

so in NT, depon. pass., to be utterly at a loss, be in despair: absol. (as Ps, l.with), 2 Corinthians 4:8; τοῦ ζῆν, 2 Corinthians 1:8.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: An intensified form of aporeō: to be utterly at a loss, completely without a way or resources, to despair. In the NT only here and 2 Cor 1:8.
Against the English: 'Despair' (most versions) catches the emotional result. It loses the sound-play with the previous word, which in Greek is the whole joke: aporoumenoi / exaporoumenoi, 'at a loss / at a total loss,' 'without a way / without any way at all.' ESV/NLT 'driven to despair' and NASB 'despairing' are close variations.
How it drifted: The drift is not in the word itself but in how 'not in despair' is heard: as a promise of emotional immunity rather than a statement that God never let the dead end become final.
Used elsewhere in the period: Septuagint Ps 87:16 (Eng. 88:15): 'I was lifted up, and humbled, and utterly at a loss' (exēporēthēn). Polybius and other Hellenistic writers use it for being reduced to complete helplessness. Paul himself uses it in 2 Cor 1:8: in Asia 'we despaired (exaporēthēnai) even of living.'

Range of meaning: An intensified form of ἀπορέω, 'to be at a loss' (from a-poros, 'without a passage or way through'). With the prefix ἐξ- it means to be utterly at a loss, completely without resource or way out, and so to despair.
Against the English: 'Despaired' (all major versions) is a fair rendering. Today, though, 'despair' mostly names a mood. The Greek centres on a situation with no exit, which the mood follows from. NLT's paraphrase, 'we thought we would never live through it', captures the 'no way out' sense well.
How it drifted: Modern English tends to hear 'despair' as an inner emotional or psychological state. The Greek word is built on the picture of having no road left.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the New Testament it occurs only here and at 2 Cor 4:8. In the Septuagint it appears at Psalm 87:16 (Psalm 88:15 in English Bibles), where the sufferer says he was lifted up, humbled, and 'utterly at a loss'.

2 Corinthians · 2

2 Corinthians 1:8 ἐξαπορηθῆναι to despair

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.

Here: To be completely without a way through, at the absolute end of one's resources. Paul says the opposite in 4:8 ('perplexed but not driven to despair'), but here he admits that in Asia he reached exactly that point.
2 Corinthians 4:8 ἐξαπορούμενοι, despairing,

We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;

Here: The same verb with the intensifying prefix ex- ('out, completely'): "utterly without a way, at the absolute end of one's resources." The wordplay with the previous word is deliberate: "at a loss, but not at a total loss."

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.