2 Corinthians 5:4 (DRB)

Passage

For we also, who are in this tabernacle, do groan, being burthened; because we would not be unclothed, but clothed upon, that that which is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 5:2 For in this also we groan, desiring to be clothed upon with our habitation that is from heaven.

2 Corinthians 5:3 Yet so that we be found clothed, not naked.

2 Corinthians 5:4 For we also, who are in this tabernacle, do groan, being burthened; because we would not be unclothed, but clothed upon, that that which is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

2 Corinthians 5:5 Now he that maketh us for this very thing is God, who hath given us the pledge of the Spirit,

2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore having always confidence, knowing that while we are in the body we are absent from the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "tabernacle", "groan", "burthened", "unclothed", "upon", "mortal", and "swallowed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "tabernacle" and "groan", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Yet so that we be found clothed..." into verse 5's "Now he that maketh us for this...", so "tabernacle" and "groan" belong inside that flow. In 2 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "tabernacle" and "groan" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.