2 Corinthians 3
King James Version
3 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
3 Forasmuch 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.
4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
6 Who 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.
7 But 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:
8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
13 And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
14 But 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.
15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But 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.
2 Corinthians 3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 3
A Letter from God.[a] 1 Are we beginning once again to commend ourselves to you? Surely, as is true in some cases, we do not need letters of recommendation to you or from you. 2 You yourselves are our letter, one that is written on our hearts, so that it may be known and read by all. 3 And you make it clear that you are a letter from Christ entrusted to our care, a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, and written not on tablets of stone[b] but on tablets of the human heart.
4 Such is the complete confidence in God that we have through Christ. 5 Obviously, we are not competent of ourselves to take credit for anything as coming from us. Our competence comes from God 6 who has empowered us to be the ministers of a new covenant, not written but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Ministers of a New Covenant.[c] 7 Now if the ministry of death, engraved with letters on stone, was so glorious that the Israelites could not fix their glance on the face of Moses because of its glory, a glory that would soon fade, 8 how much greater will be the glory of the ministry of the Spirit?
9 For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much richer in glory will be the ministry of righteousness! 10 Indeed, what was once glorious is now without any glory in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 For if what was destined to fade away was glorious, how much greater will be the glory of that which endures!
12 The Lord Is the Spirit.[d] Therefore, since we have such hope, we can act with complete confidence, 13 and not like Moses who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites could not observe the radiance that was fading away. 14 However, their minds were hardened. Even to this very day, the same veil remains unlifted during the reading of the old covenant,[e] since only in Christ is it set aside. 15 Indeed, to this very day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts.
16 However, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now this Lord is the Spirit,[f] and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And as we gaze upon the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, all of us are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 3:1 Preachers are circulating, exhibiting and collecting their letters of credibility from one Church to another. But how futile are merely human recommendations and written documents! The apostolate is attested by one’s life. The existence of the community of Corinth and the Spirit’s action in it certify that Paul and his coworkers have been chosen by God. This is the new covenant announced by the Prophets that inserts itself into the lives of individuals and peoples (see Jer 31:31-33; Ezek 11:19; 36:26).
For the first time in Christian literature, the idea of a “New Covenant” and the term itself make their appearance, and a clear distinction is drawn between the two Testaments. Paul has understood that there has been a radical change: from the letter to the Spirit, from the written book to the live hearts of human beings. - 2 Corinthians 3:3 Tablets of stone: a reference to the Law given on Sinai (see Ex 24:12).
- 2 Corinthians 3:7 Proceeding in the manner of the rabbis, Paul freely interprets an episode in the life of Moses (see Ex 34:29-35) in order to assert the superiority of the New Testament. Set down by Moses, the Law denounces sin without giving the power to conquer sin; it thus condemns people without glorifying or saving them. It is not God’s definitive gift.
Indeed, Paul dares to compare the ministry of the apostles to that of Moses, which was the most prestigious in the Old Testament. He dares to state that the apostolic ministry is greater than that of the founder of the Jewish people. And he invites everyone to enter fully into this New Covenant so as to surpass definitively the universe of the Old Testament. The Letter to the Romans will later offer a lengthy development of this singularly new vision in that age. - 2 Corinthians 3:12 Paul continues to comment in rabbinical fashion on the veil of Moses. The veil is now over the faces of the Jews. He makes clear that they refuse to accept the provisional character of the Old Covenant—they do not truly understand either Moses or the Old Testament, for Christ is the key to both. It is he who established a new and definitive Covenant, which leads to life and is the power of liberation, the source of freedom. The light of the risen Christ is reflected in the life of believers by their transformation in an ever more profound manner.
- 2 Corinthians 3:14 Old covenant, i.e., “Old Testament”: this is the first time that this expression, referring to a collection of Scriptures, appears in a Christian text.
- 2 Corinthians 3:17 This Lord is the Spirit: the “Lord” to whom the Christian turns (v. 16) is the life-giving Spirit of the living God (vv. 6, 8), who is also the Spirit of Christ. This Spirit is the inaugurator of the New Covenant and the ministry.
