Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

2 Corinthians 4:3

εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔστιν κεκαλυμμένον. But if (2 Corinthians 4:16) our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that are perishing (chiasmus). The perf. part. indicates that it has been and remains veiled, and τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἡμῶν means our preaching of the good tidings. The reference to κάλυμμα (2 Corinthians 3:12-18) must be preserved in translation. The ἕστιν is emphatic, not enclitic; ‘even if it is veiled.’ The Judaizers might say, ‘Whether or no a veil hides the Law from us, a veil certainly hides your Gospel from us’: comp. 1 Corinthians 2:7. To this he replies, ‘Yes, from you. What we preach is veiled from those who are in the paths of death: but its glories are manifest to all who are in the way of salvation’ (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). As distinct from καὶ εἰ, representing an assumed possibility, εἰ καί represents the concession of what is a fact (2 Corinthians 5:16; 2 Corinthians 12:11). In 2 Corinthians 11:15 the καί belongs to οἱ διάκονοι.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

2 Corinthians 4:3

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