2 Corinthians 3

2 Corinthians · Chapter 3

2 Corinthians 3:13

1Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?2Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:3Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.4And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;6Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.7But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:8How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?9For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.10For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.11For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.12Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:13And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:14But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.15But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.16Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.17Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.18But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
13And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away.and are not as Moses, who put a veil upon his face, that the children of Israel should not look stedfastly on the end of that which was passing away:

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

2 Corinthians 3:12-18The vail taken away

About 2 Corinthians 3Paul needs no letters of commendation, for the Corinthians are "our epistle written in our hearts," written "not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God." God has made them "able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life," and if the old ministry had glory, the ministry of the Spirit has more. Moses put a vail over his face, and a vail still lies on hearts until "it shall turn to the Lord," but "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty," and we are "changed into the same image from glory to glory." 2 Corinthians 3:12 Corinthians 3:22 Corinthians 3:32 Corinthians 3:62 Corinthians 3:72 Corinthians 3:82 Corinthians 3:132 Corinthians 3:152 Corinthians 3:162 Corinthians 3:172 Corinthians 3:18

Who, where and when in this chapter

Original Greek words

EnglishGreekSay itStrong'sMeaning
andκαὶkaiG2532
and

καί (kai) καί, conj., and I. Copulative. 1. Connecting single words; (a) in general: Mat.2:18, 16:1, Mrk.2:15, Luk.8:15, Heb.1:1, al. mult.; repeated before each of the terms in a series, Mat.23:23, Luk.14:21, Rom.7:12, 9:4, al. (b) connecting numerals (WM, §37, 4): Jhn.2:20, Act.13:20; (with) joining terms which are not mutually exclusive, as the part with the whole: Mat.8:33, 26:59, Mrk.16:17, Act.5:29, al. 2. Connecting clauses and sentences: Mat.3:12, Act.5:21, al. mult.; esp. …

notοὐouG3756
no

οὐ (ou) οὐ, before a vowel with smooth breathing οὐκ, before one with rough breathing οὐχ (but improperly οὐχ ἰδού, Act.2:7, WH, mg.; cf. WH, Intr., §409; M, Pr., 44, 244), [in LXX for אֵין ,אַיִן ,לֹא ;] neg. particle, not, no, used generally with indic, and for a denial of fact (cf . μή); 1. absol. (accented), οὔ, no: Mat.13:29 Jhn.1:21 21:5; οὒ οὕ, Mat.5:37 Jas.5:12. …

asκαθάπερkathaperG2509
just as

καθάπερ (kathaper) καθάπερ (for καθ᾽ ἅπερ = καθά) adv., [in LXX for אֲשֶׁר, Gen.12:4, Exo.7:6, al. ;] just as, even as: Rom.3:4 4:6 9:13 10:15 11:8 12:4, 1Co.10:10 12:12, 2Co.1:14 3:13 3:18 8:11, 1Th.2:11 3:6 3:12 4:6, Heb.4:2.† (AS)

MosesΜωϋσῆςMōusēsG3475
Moses

Μωϋσῆς, Μωσῆς (Mōusēs, Mōsēs) Μωυσῆς (Μωϋσῆς, T; Μωσῆς, Rec.), -έως, dative - (as LXX: Exo.5:20, al.), and -εῖ, accusative -ῆν (ac LXX) and -έα (Luk.16:29 only) (Heb. מֹשֶׁה), Moses: Mat.8:4 17:3-4, al.; νόμος Μωυσέως, Luk.2:22 24:44, Jhn.7:23, Act.13:39 15:5 28:23, 1Co.9:9, Heb.10:28; by meton., of the books of Moses, Luk.16:29 24:27, Act.15:21, 2Co.3:15 (AS)

was puttingἐτίθειetitheiG5087
to place

τίθημι (tithēmi) τίθημι, [in LXX for שִׁית ,נתן ,שׂוּם, etc. ;] 1. causative of κεῖμαι, (a) to place, lay, set: Luk.6:48, Rom.9:33, al.; of laying the dead to rest, Mrk.15:47, Luk.23:55, Jhn.11:34, Act.7:16, al.; before ἐπί, with genitive, Luk.8:16, Jhn.19:19, al.; id. with accusative, Mrk.4:21, 2Co.3:13, al.; ὑπό, Mat.5:15, al.; παρά, Act.4:35, 37. Mid., to have put or placed, to place for oneself: of putting in prison, Act.4:3, 5:18, 25, al.; of giving counsel, βουλήν, Act.27:12; of laying up in one's heart, Luk.1:66 21:14 ( 1Ki.21:12); …

a veilκάλυμμαkalummaG2571
veil

κάλυμμα (kalumma) κάλυμμα, -τος, τό (καλύπτω), [in LXX: Num.3:25 4:8 ff. (מְכַסֶּה), Exo_34:33 ff. (מַסְוֶה), etc. ;] a covering, veil: 2Co.3:13-16 † (AS)

overἐπὶepiG1909
upon/to/against

ἐπί (epi) ἐπί (before a smooth breathing ἐπ᾽, before a rough breathing ἐφ᾽), prep. with genitive, dative, accusative (accusative most frequently in NT), with primary sense of superposition, on, upon. I. C. genitive, 1. of place, answering the question, where? …

faceπρόσωπονprosōponG4383
face

πρόσωπον (prosōpon) πρόσωπον, -ου, τό (πρός, ὤψ), [in LXX chiefly and very frequently for פָּנִים ;] 1. prop., of persons (so always in cl.); (a) the face, countenance: Mat.6:16-17, Mrk.14:65, Luk.9:29, 2Co.3:7, Rev.4:7, al.; τὸ π. τῆς γενέτεως (EV, natural face), Jas.1:23; πίπτειν ἐπὶ (τὰ) π., Mat.17:6, Luk.5:12, Rev.7:11, al.; ἀγνοούμενος τῷ π., Gal.1:22; π., οὐ καρδίᾳ, 1Th.2:17; κατὰ πρόσωπον (in front, facing: Thuc., Xen., al.), when present, face to face, Act.25:16, 2Co.10:1 10:7, Gal.2:11; id. with genitive, as compound prep., in the presence of (not cl.; see Bl., § 40, 9; M, Pr., 99 f.; Thackeray, Gr., 4 …

of himselfαὐτοῦautouG0846
it/s/he

αὐτός (autos) αὐτός, -ή, -ό, determinative pron., in late Gk. much more frequently than in cl. (WM, 178f.; Jannaris, HGG, §1399). 1. Emphatic (so always in nom. exc. when preceded by the art., see infr., iii); (1) self (ipse), expressing opposition, distinction, exclusion, etc., αὐ. ἐκχυθήσεται, Luk.5:37; αὐ. ἐγινώσκεν, Jhn.2:25; αὐ.ὑμεῖς, Jhn.3:28; καὶ αὐ. ἐγώ, Rom.15:14; αὐ. Ἰησοῦς, Jhn.2:24; αὐ. καὶ οἱ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ, Mrk.2:25; ὑμεῖς αὐ., Mrk.6:31; esp. (as freq in cl.) αὐ. ὁ, Mat.3:4, Mrk.6:17, Jhn.16:27, 1Th.3:11, al.; in late Gk., sometimes weakened, ἐν αὐτῇ τ. ὥρᾳ, in that hour, Luk.10:21 (M, Pr., 91; …

forπρὸςprosG4314
to/with

πρός (pros) πρός, prep. with genitive, dative, accusative I. I. C. genitive, of motion from a place, from the side of, hence metaphorically, in the interests of, Act.27:34 (cf. Page, in l.). II. II. C. dative, of local proximity, hard by, near, at: Mrk.5:11, Luk.19:37, Jhn.18:16 20:11, 12 Rev.1:13. III. C. accusative, of motion or direction towards a place or object, to, towards. 1. Of place, …

notμὴmēG3361
not

μή (mē) μή, subjective negative particle, used where the negation depends on a condition or hypothesis, expressed or understood, as distinct from οὐ, which denies absolutely. μή is used where one thinks a thing is not, as distinct from an absolute negation. As a general rule, οὐ negatives the indic, μή the other moods, incl, ptcp. [In LXX for אֵין ,אַיִן ,אַל ] I. As a neg. adv., not; 1. with ref. to thought or opinion: Jhn.3:18, Tit.1:11, 2Pe.1:9. 2. In delib. questions, with subjc. (M, Pr., 185): Mrk.12:14, Rom.3:8. …

to look intentlyἀτενίσαιatenisaiG0816
to gaze

ἀτενίζω (atenizō) ἀτενίζω (ἀτενής, strained, intent; τείνω), [in LXX: I Est.6:28, 3Ma.2:26 * ;] to look fixedly, gaze (MM, see word): with dative of person(s), gaze upon: Luk.4:20 22:56, Act.3:12 10:4 14:9 23:1; before εἰς, with accusative of person(s), Act.3:4 6:15 13:9; metaphorically, Act.1:10 7:55 11:6, 2Co.3:7 3:13.† (AS)

sonsυἱοὺςhuiousG5207
son

υἱός (uhios) υἱός, -οῦ, ὁ, [in LXX very frequently and nearly always for בֵּן, Gen.4:17, al.; for בַּר, Dan LXX TH 7:13, al.; etc. ;], a son; 1. in the ordinary sense: Mat.10:37, Mrk.9:17, Luk.1:13, al. mult.; omitted with the art. of origin (WM, §30, 3; Bl., §35, 2), τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαί, Act.13:22 (LXX); also with genitive anarth. (cl.), Σώπατρος Πύρρου Βεροιαῖος, Act.20:4; with adj., προτότοκος, Luk.2:7; μονογένης, Luk.7:12; opposite to νόθος, Heb.12:8; in a wider sense, of posterity: ὁ υἱ. Δαυΐδ, of the Messiah (cf. Dalman, Words, 316ff.; DCG, ii, 653f.), Mat.22:42, 45 Mrk.12:35, 37 Luk.20:41, 44 al.; υἱοὶ …

of IsraelἸσραὴλIsraēlG2474
Israel

Ἰσραήλ (Israēl) Ἰσραήλ (FlJ, Ἰσράηλος, -ου), ὁ indecl. (Heb. יִשְׂרָאֵל, Gen.32:28), Israel: ὁ οἶκος Ἰ., Act.7:42 (LXX), al.; λαός, Act.4:10; υὁοί, Act.5:21, al.; αἱ φυλαὶ τοῦ Ἰ., Mat.19:28, al. By meton., for the Israelites, Mat.2:6, Luk.1:54, Rom.11:2, al.; ὁ λαὸς Ἰ., Act.4:10; γῆ Ἰ., Mat.2:20-21; βασιλεὺς Ἰ., Mat.27:42, Jhn.1:50; ἡ ἐλπὶς τοῦ Ἰ., Act.28:20; ὁ Ἰ. τοῦ θεοῦ (of Christians), Gal.6:16; ὁ Ἰ. κατὰ σάρκα, 1Co.10:18 (AS)

intoεἰςeisG1519
toward

εἰς (eis) εἰς, prep. with accusative, expressing entrance, direction, limit, into, unto, to, upon, towards, for, among (Lat. in, with accusative). I. Of place. 1. After verbs of motion; (a) of entrance into: Mat.8:23, 9:7, Mrk.1:45, Luk.2:15, 8:31, al.; (b) of approach, to or towards: Mrk.11:1, Luk.6:8, 19:28, Jhn.11:31, 21:6, al.; (with) before pl. and collective nouns, among: Mrk.4:7, 8:19, 20, Luk.11:49, Jhn.21:23, al.; …

endτέλοςtelosG5056
goal/tax

τέλος (telos) τέλος, -ους, τό [in LXX for קֵץ, etc.; εἰς τὸ τ., chiefly for נֶצַח and cognate forms ;] 1. end: most frequently of the termination or limit of an act or state (in NT also of the end of a period of time, cl. τελευτή), Luk.1:33, 1Co.10:11, 2Co.3:13, 1Pe.4:7; by meton., of one who makes an end, Rom.10:4; ἕως (ἄχρι, μέκρι) τέλους, 1Co.1:8, 2Co.1:13, Heb.3:14 6:11, Rev.2:26; εἰς τ., to or at the end, Mat.10:22, Mrk.13:13, Luk.18:5, Jhn.13:1 (or here, to the uttermost, see Westc., in l); τ. ἔχειν, Luk.22:37; adverbially, τὸ δὲ τέλος, finally, 1Pe.3:8; of the last in a series, Rev.21:6 22:13; of t …

fading away;καταργουμένου·katargoumenouG2673
to abate

καταργέω (katargeō) κατ-αργέω, -ῶ (κατά, causative, ἀργός = ἀ-εργός), [in LXX: 2Es.4.21; 2Es.4.23; 2Es.5.5; 2Es.6.8 (בְּטֵל)* ;] to make idle or inactive (χέρας, Eur., Phœn., 753): of soil occupied by an unfruitful tree, Luk.13:7. Metaphorical (Inscr.), to render inoperative or invalid, to abrogate, abolish: Rom.3:3, 31, 1Co.1:28 6:13 13:11 15:24, Gal.3:17, Eph.2:15, 2Th.2:8, 2Ti.1:10, Heb.2:14; pass., Rom.4:14 6:6, 1Co.2:6 13:8 13:10 15:26, 2Co.3:7 3:11-14 Gal.5:11; before ἀπό (of persons), to be separated, discharged or loosed from, Rom.7:2, 6, Gal.5:4.† (AS)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.