Christ’s Epistle^(A)

3 Do ^(B)we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, ^(C)epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? ^2 (D)You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; ³ clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ^(E)ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not ^(F)on tablets of stone but ^(G)on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

The Spirit, Not the Letter

⁴ And we have such trust through Christ toward God. ^5 (H)Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but ^(I)our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who also made us sufficient as ^(J)ministers of ^(K)the new covenant, not ^(L)of the letter but of the ^[a]Spirit; for ^(M)the letter kills, ^(N)but the Spirit gives life.

Glory of the New Covenant

⁷ But if ^(O)the ministry of death, ^(P)written and engraved on stones, was glorious, ^(Q)so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, ⁸ how will ^(R)the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? ⁹ For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry ^(S)of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. ¹⁰ For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. ¹¹ For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.

¹² Therefore, since we have such hope, ^(T)we use great boldness of speech— ¹³ unlike Moses, ^(U)who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at ^(V)the end of what was passing away. ¹⁴ But ^(W)their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. ¹⁵ But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. ¹⁶ Nevertheless ^(X)when one turns to the Lord, ^(Y)the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ Now ^(Z)the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is ^(AA)liberty. ¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding ^(AB)as in a mirror ^(AC)the glory of the Lord, ^(AD)are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as ^[b]by the Spirit of the Lord.