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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>2 Corinthians 3 ESV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/2_corinthians/3.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/2_corinthians/3-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">ESV</a> > 2 Corinthians 3</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../2_corinthians/2.htm" title="2 Corinthians 2">◄</a> 2 Corinthians 3 <a href="../2_corinthians/4.htm" title="2 Corinthians 4">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">English Standard Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/esv/nas/2_corinthians/3.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div></a><div class="chap"><p class="heading">Ministers of the New Covenant</p><p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Some manuscripts your">a</a></sup></span> hearts, to be known and read by all. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Greek fleshly hearts">b</a></sup></span></p> <p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.</p> <p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.</p> <p class="regular"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>But when one<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Greek he">c</a></sup></span> turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>Now the Lord<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or this Lord">d</a></sup></span> is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or reflecting the glory of the Lord">e</a></sup></span> are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.<span class="footnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Greek from glory to glory">f</a></sup></span> For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="footnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">2</span> Some manuscripts <i>your</i><br /><span class="footnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">3</span> Greek <i>fleshly hearts</i><br /><span class="footnotesbot">c</span> <span class="fnverse">16</span> Greek <i>he</i><br /><span class="footnotesbot">d</span> <span class="fnverse">17</span> Or <i>this Lord</i><br /><span class="footnotesbot">e</span> <span class="fnverse">18</span> Or <i>reflecting the glory of the Lord</i><br /><span class="footnotesbot">f</span> <span class="fnverse">18</span> Greek <i>from glory to glory</i><br /></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">ESV Text Edition® (2016).<br /><br />The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by <a href="http://www.crossway.org/home/esv/">Crossway Bibles</a>, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. 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