A.(3) Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort ;
B.(4) Who comforteth us in all our tribulation,
B’. that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble,
A’. by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God .
A. (5) For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
B. (6) And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation,
C. which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer:
B’. or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
A'(7) And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
In relation to this the following is adapted from “The Presence of Chiasmus in the New Testament” N. W. Lund, The Journal of Religion, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan., 1930), pp. 74-93
A1.(3) Blessed be God
B1. and Father
C1. of our Lord Jesus Christ,
B1′. the Father of mercies,
A1’/A2. and God
B2. of all comfort, (4) who comforteth us
C2. in all our afflictions,
D2. that we maybe able to comfort them that are
C2′. in any affliction
B2′. through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted
A2′. of God.
A3. (5) For as abound the sufferings
B3. of Christ
C3. unto us,
B3′. even so through Christ
A3′. aboundeth also our comfort
The second structure is certainly interesting, but I can’t see links between the parts of the first suggestion. There could still be some sort of structure, I have found potential chiasms where one word is repeated 7 times with the contexts forming a chiasmic structure, so it may be worth looking into.
Here are some alternative structures:
e: (3)Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God
d: of all comfort;
c: (4) Who comforteth us
b: in all our tribulation,
A: that we may be able to comfort them
b: which are in any trouble,
c: by the comfort
d: wherewith we ourselves are comforted of
e: God.
c:(5) For as the sufferings of Christ
b: abound in us,
A: so our consolation
b: also aboundeth
c:by Christ.
c: (6) And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation,
b: which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer:
c: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
b: (7) And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings,
c: so shall ye be also of the consolation.
I would be very interested if anyone can think of a different structure for v6-7.
My most recent thought is
A.
a. 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort ;
b. 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation,
b’. that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble,
a’. by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God .
B.5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us,
so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
A’.
a. 6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation,
b. which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer:
a’. or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
b’. 7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.