2 Corinthians 3 (NET)

A Living Letter

1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? We don’t need letters of recommendation to you or from you as some other people do, do we?1 2 You yourselves are our letter,2 written on our hearts, known and read by everyone, 3 revealing3 that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us,4 written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets5 but on tablets of human hearts.

4 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. 5 Not that we are adequate6 in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy7 is from God, 6 who made us adequate8 to be servants of a new covenant9 not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The Greater Glory of the Spirit’s Ministry

7 But if the ministry that produced death – carved in letters on stone tablets10 – came with glory, so that the Israelites11 could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face12 (a glory13 which was made ineffective),14 8 how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be?15 9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation,16 how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness17 excel18 in glory! 10 For indeed, what had been glorious now19 has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it.20 11 For if what was made ineffective21 came with22 glory, how much more has what remains23 come in glory! 12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we behave with great boldness,24 13 and not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites25 from staring26 at the result27 of the glory that was made ineffective.28 14 But their minds were closed.29 For to this very day, the same veil remains when they hear the old covenant read.30 It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away.31 15 But until this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds,32 16 but when one33 turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.34 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present,35 there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord,36 are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another,37 which is from38 the Lord, who is the Spirit.39

13:1tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply (“No, we do not”) which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ at the end, “do we?” 23:2tn That is, “letter of recommendation.” 33:3tn Or “making plain.” 43:3tn Grk “cared for by us,” an expression that could refer either to the writing or the delivery of the letter (BDAG 229 s.v. διακονέω 1). Since the following phrase refers to the writing of the letter, and since the previous verse speaks of this “letter” being “written on our [Paul’s and his companions’] hearts” it is more probable that the phrase “cared for by us” refers to the delivery of the letter (in the person of Paul and his companions). 53:3sn An allusion to Exod 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deut 9:10-11. 63:5tn Or “competent.” 73:5tn Or “competence.” 83:6tn Or “competent.” 93:6sn This new covenant is promised in Jer 31:31-34; 32:40. 103:7tn Grk “on stones”; but since this is clearly an allusion to the tablets of the Decalogue (see 2 Cor 3:3) the word “tablets” was supplied in the translation to make the connection clear. 113:7tn Grk “so that the sons of Israel.” 123:7sn The glory of his face. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the tablets of the Decalogue, the people were afraid to approach him because his face was so radiant (Exod 34:29-30). 133:7tn The words “a glory” are not in the Greek text, but the reference to “glory” has been repeated from the previous clause for clarity. 143:7tn Or “which was transitory.” Traditionally this phrase is translated as “which was fading away.” The verb καταργέω in the corpus Paulinum uniformly has the meaning “to render inoperative, ineffective”; the same nuance is appropriate here. The glory of Moses’ face was rendered ineffective by the veil Moses wore. For discussion of the meaning of this verb in this context, see S. J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the History of Israel (WUNT 81), 301-13. A similar translation has been adopted in the two other occurrences of the verb in this paragraph in vv. 11 and 13. 153:8tn Grk “how will not rather the ministry of the Spirit be with glory?” 163:9tn Grk “the ministry of condemnation”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produced condemnation.” 173:9tn Grk “the ministry of righteousness”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produces righteousness.” 183:9tn Traditionally, “abound.” 193:10tn Grk “in this case.” 203:10tn The words “of what replaced it” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify the meaning. 213:11tn Or “what was fading away.” See note on “which was made ineffective” in v. 7. 223:11tn Or “through” (διά, dia). 233:11tn Or “what is permanent.” 243:12tn Or “we employ great openness of speech.” 253:13tn Grk “the sons of Israel.” 263:13tn Or “from gazing intently.” 273:13tn Or “end.” The word τέλος (telos) can mean both “a point of time marking the end of a duration, end, termination, cessation” and “the goal toward which a movement is being directed, end, goal, outcome” (see BDAG 998-999 s.v.). The translation accepts the interpretation that Moses covered the glory of his face with the veil to prevent Israel from being judged by the glory of God (see S. J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the History of Israel [WUNT 81], 347-62); in this case the latter meaning for τέλος is more appropriate. 283:13tn Or “was fading away”; Grk “on the result of what was made ineffective.” The referent (glory) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See note on “which was made ineffective” in v. 7. 293:14tn Grk “their minds were hardened.” 303:14tn Grk “the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant”; the phrase “they hear” has been introduced (“when they hear the old covenant read”) to make the link with the “Israelites” (v. 13) whose minds were closed (v. 14a) more obvious to the reader. 313:14tn Or “only in Christ is it eliminated.” 323:15tn Grk “their heart.” 333:16tn Or perhaps “when(ever) he turns,” referring to Moses. 343:16sn An allusion to Exod 34:34. The entire verse may refer to Moses, viewing him as a type portraying the Jewish convert to Christianity in Paul’s day. 353:17tn Grk “where the Spirit of the Lord is”; the word “present” is supplied to specify that the presence of the Lord’s Spirit is emphasized rather than the mere existence of the Lord’s Spirit. 363:18tn Or “we all with unveiled faces beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror.” 373:18tn Grk “from glory to glory.” 383:18tn Grk “just as from.” 393:18tn Grk “from the Lord, the Spirit”; the genitive πνεύματος (pneumato") has been translated as a genitive of apposition.