Verse Lens · Context pointer
2 Corinthians 4:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
This verse locates the veiled gospel among people described as perishing.
Read It With
- 2 Corinthians 4:1–6
Read 2 Corinthians 4:3 with 4:1–6. This verse locates the veiled gospel among people described as perishing. The complete unit establishes this movement: Because ministry is received by mercy, Paul refuses secret shame, craftiness, and distortion, commends open truth to conscience, and proclaims Jesus Christ as Lord rather than himself.
Why It Needs Context
Read this line with 2 Corinthians 4:1–6. The surrounding verses supply the complete movement summarized here: Because ministry is received by mercy, Paul refuses secret shame, craftiness, and distortion, commends open truth to conscience, and proclaims Jesus Christ as Lord rather than himself.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Corinthians 4:1–6 — Mercy-Funded Ministry Rejects Deceit and Proclaims Jesus as LordSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 2 Corinthians 4:1–6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, repeated terms, and original-language discussion.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file 2Co.txt, 4:1–6
Open the 2 Corinthians Greek text file ↗