Passage

2 Corinthians 4.4

"in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4, NASB95)

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"2. but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish:"

"4. in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them."

"5. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6. Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:2-6, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"2. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3. Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who perish;"

"4. in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them."

"5. For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake; 6. seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:2-6, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"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. ^{dishonesty: Gr. shame} 3. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:"

"4. In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

"5. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 6. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. ^{hath: Gr. is he who hath}" (2 Corinthians 4:2-6, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"2. but did renounce for ourselves the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor deceitfully using the word of God, but by the manifestation of the truth recommending ourselves unto every conscience of men, before God; 3. and if also our good news is vailed, in those perishing it is vailed,"

"4. in whom the god of this age did blind the minds of the unbelieving, that there doth not shine forth to them the enlightening of the good news of the glory of the Christ, who is the image of God;"

"5. for not ourselves do we preach, but Christ Jesus, Lord, and ourselves your servants because of Jesus; 6. because [it is] God who said, Out of darkness light [is] to shine, who did shine in our hearts, for the enlightening of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:2-6, YLT)

Paul names Satan with a deliberately provocative title: ho theos tou aionos toutou, "the god of this age." The phrase is the strongest scriptural warrant for a Christian limited-dualism, the view that a real but creaturely adversary holds usurped authority over the present world-order. The function of that authority is named precisely: Satan blinds the minds (ta noemata) of unbelievers so that the light of the gospel about the glory of Christ does not dawn on them. The verse therefore links Christology (Christ as eikon theou, the image of God) with hamartiology (the noetic effects of sin) and spiritual warfare (Satan as ruler of the present age) in one sentence.

Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle
Audience: Christian believers in Corinth
Location: composed in Macedonia; addressed to Corinth
Time period: composed c. AD 56

Theological reading

The title "god of this age" must be read against Deuteronomy 6.4 and the Pauline insistence elsewhere that there is one God and one Lord (1 Corinthians 8:6). Paul is not granting Satan ontological deity. He is naming a functional rulership over the unredeemed world-order: Satan is the one whom unbelievers in fact serve, the one whose program is in effect in the present aion. The parallel claims in John 12.31 ("the ruler of this world will be cast out"), Ephesians 2.2 ("the prince of the power of the air"), and 1 John 5:19 ("the whole world lies in the power of the evil one") together build a coherent picture of a creature with delegated and now-rebellious authority, awaiting judicial deposition at the eschaton.

The mechanism of his rule is striking. Satan does not coerce; he blinds. He works on the noetic apparatus, the noemata (minds, perceptions, mental constructs), so that the gospel's intrinsic luminosity does not register. This is the Pauline doctrine of the noetic effects of sin in its sharpest form: unbelief is not merely a defect of evidence or of will but a darkened perception actively maintained by spiritual hostility. The apologetic upshot is that argument alone, however good, cannot remove the veil. Paul models the response in verse 5: preach Christ as Lord, and trust that the same God who said "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3) speaks creative illumination into the dark heart.

The Christology compresses the whole gospel into one clause: the gospel is "of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." Paul reaches behind the fall to Genesis 1:26 (humanity made in God's image) and identifies Christ as the true and undimmed image to which redeemed humanity is being conformed (Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18). To see Christ rightly is to see God. To be prevented from seeing Christ is to be prevented from seeing God.

Key words

G2316 - theos, theos (god). The same noun for the true God and for Satan in this clause; the syntax forces the contrast.
G0165 - aion, aion (age). The temporal frame in which Satan's rule is operative; not eternal, not creational, but this present world-order under judgment.
G1504 - eikon, eikon (image). Christ as the eikon of God; image-of-God Christology and image-of-God anthropology converge here.
G1391 - doxa, doxa (glory). The gospel is "of the glory of Christ", the visible weight of the divine in Christ.
G2098 - euangelion, euangelion (good news). What Satan's blindness specifically obstructs.

Theological themes

Limited Christian dualism. A real adversary holds usurped rule over the present age; not co-eternal, not creational.
Noetic effects of sin. Unbelief is an active darkening of the mind, not a neutral failure of evidence.
Christology of image and glory. Christ as eikon and doxa of God; to know Christ is to know God.
Apologetic limit. Argument cannot by itself remove the veil; preached gospel and divine illumination must.
The two ages. The present aion under Satan's rule contrasted with the age to come under Christ's manifest reign.
Continuity with Genesis. Verse 6 explicitly echoes "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3); new-creation illumination follows the original creation pattern.
Veiled gospel. Verses 3-4 together suggest the gospel's invisibility to perishing minds is not the gospel's defect but the veil's effect.

Cross-references

John 12.31, "now the ruler of this world will be cast out."
Ephesians 2.2, "the prince of the power of the air."
1 Corinthians 2.14, the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit.
Colossians 1.15, Christ "the image of the invisible God."
Genesis 1.26-27, the imago Dei foundation for eikon Christology.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.