What Does 2 Corinthians 4:3 Mean in the King James?
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The good news can remain present even when those losing their way cannot see it: it is covered, not gone.
THE MEANING
The good news may be present while remaining covered from your sight; the verse locates that concealment among those perishing, those losing their way. Its image is a covering over what is there, so hidden does not mean absent.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
If I cannot see the good news, it must be absent.
THE ROOT
κεκαλυμμένον
kekalymmenon
GROWS FROM
καλύπτω
kalyptō
to cover, conceal
The Greek describes the gospel as covered, with the covering still in place; English “hid” can sound like disappearance, while the root keeps the image of a covering over something present. The same root gives a veil and the act of uncovering, linking concealment and revelation around what is there.
ALSO GROWS
kalymma: veil, covering
κάλυμμα
This is the veil named in 2 Corinthians 3:16, where the covering is taken away.
apokalyptō: uncover, reveal
ἀποκαλύπτω
The same root with a prefix for removal names the opening of what was covered.
ἀπολλυμένοις
apollymenois
GROWS FROM
ἀπόλλυμι
apollymi
to perish, lose the way
The word translated “lost” belongs to the same family as “perish” and carries the sense of losing one’s way. The verse joins this condition to a covering: the message is there, but cannot be seen by those caught in this loss.
ALSO GROWS
apōleia: loss, ruin, perishing
ἀπώλεια
This noun shows the same root describing loss as a condition, not simply a location someone has misplaced.
apolōlos: having perished, lost
ἀπολωλός
This related participle uses the same root for one who has gone astray or perished.
THE PATTERN
A covering can obscure what remains present, and its removal opens perception.
And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.THE THREAD
Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.The “vail” here is κάλυμμα (kalymma), from the same Greek root as “hid” in this verse. One verse names the covered state; the other shows the covering being taken away.
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