2 Corinthians 5:4 Meaning and Explanation
“For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →We groan under the burden of mortal life, longing not merely to be free of the body but to have mortality overtaken by life.
What Does 2 Corinthians 5:4 Mean?
Paul clarifies the groaning of verse 2. The desire is not simply to escape the body ('unclothed') but to be 'clothed upon,' to have the perishable taken up into something greater. The phrase 'swallowed up of life' echoes the hope that death itself will be overwhelmed.
This is the shape of Christian hope: not the shedding of the body as a burden to be discarded, but its transformation, so that what is mortal is consumed by life. The weight we carry now is real, yet it is moving toward a day when life, not death, has the final word.
2 Corinthians 5:4 in the Original Language
katapino (καταπίνω), 'swallowed up' -- to engulf or consume completely, picturing life overwhelming mortality.
Frequently Asked Questions About 2 Corinthians 5:4
What does 2 Corinthians 5:4 mean?
We groan under the burden of mortal life, longing not merely to be free of the body but to have mortality overtaken by life.