2 Corinthians 4 is the fourth chapter of the

Second Epistle to the Corinthians The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author named Timothy, and is addressed to the church in Corinth and Christians in the ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. It is authored by

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

and Timothy ( 2 Corinthians 1:1) in Macedonia in 55–56 CE. Twice in this chapter (verses 1 and 16) this sentence occurs: "Therefore, we do not lose heart".Buls, H. H.
Buls' Notes on 2 Corinthians 4:1–6
accessed 30 August 2017

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. This chapter is divided into 18 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: *

Papyrus 46 Papyrus 46 (''P. Chester Beatty II''), designated by siglum (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is an early Greek New Testament manuscript written on papyrus, and is one of the manuscripts comprising the Chester Beatty Papyri. Manuscripts among ...

(~AD 200) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(325–350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts) ...

(330–360) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400–440; extant verses 1–12) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) designated by the siglum C or 04 {in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a ma ...

(~450) *

Codex Freerianus Codex Freerianus, designated by I or 016 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), α 1041 ( von Soden), also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Pauline Epistles'', is a 5th-century manuscript in an uncial hand on vellum in Greek. It is named afte ...

(~450; extant verses 6–7,16–17) *

Codex Claromontanus Codex Claromontanus, symbolized by Dp, D2 or 06 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1026 ( von Soden), is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, written in an uncial hand on vellum. The Greek and Latin texts are on facing p ...

(~550)

Old Testament references

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

We do not lose heart

The Greek οὐκ ἐγκακοῦμεν (''ouk enkakoumen'') is a Pauline phrase used twice in this chapter, derived from the verb ἐκκακέω (''ekkakeó''), meaning "to faint". The word is used in three of the other

Pauline epistles The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...

, and in one other New Testament text: "the example outside the Pauline corpus is found at .

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

spoke a

parable A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, w ...

concerning the constant necessity of prayer and eachingthat the Christians should not grow weary of prayer".

Verse 2

:''But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.'' *"Handling the word of God deceitfully": or "adulterating the word of God" from grc, δολοῦντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ, '' '', "falsifying the word of God".

Verse 7

: ''But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.'' *"Treasure in earthen vessels": The Gospel, as a "treasure" because "it contains rich truths", is placed in "earthen vessels," i.e. "ministers of the word." It alludes either to the "earth", where hidden treasures are to be dug, or to "pots and vessels made of earth", or to "earthen pitchers", formerly to carry lights or lamps (cf. : three hundred men of Gideon took empty pitchers and placed lamps within the pitchers); the latter may represent the Gospel as a "glorious light, shining in darkness" (; ). The Greek word ''ostrakinoiu'' signifies "shells of fishes" which Philo the Jew compare the human body.De Joseph. p. 536. ''apud'' Gill, John. On 2 Corinthians 4:7. Quote: ''I am (says he) very little concerned for this mortal body which is about me, and cleaves to me (ostreou diken), "like the shell of a fish"; though it is hurt by everyone.'' This reference may point to pearls, which are found in shells, particularly in

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

s, expressing the "frail mortal bodies of the ministers of the Gospel" (comparable to the brittle shells) as they work under persecutions, for Gospel's sake (cf. ).''John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible'', 2 Corinthians 4:7
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References

Sources

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Second Epistle to the Corinthians 2 Corinthians 4