2Cor 3 | ESV | STEP | Are we beginning to commend ourselves again ? Or do we need , as some do, letters of recommendation to you , or from you ?

‏ 2 Corinthians 3

Ministers of the New Covenant

1 ^aAre we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, ^bas some do, ^cletters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 ^dYou yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our ^{▼▼Some manuscripts your} hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of ^fthe living God, not on ^gtablets of stone but on ^htablets of ⁱhuman hearts. ^{▼▼Greek fleshly hearts}

4 ^kSuch is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 ^lNot that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but ^mour sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ⁿministers of ^oa new covenant, not of ^pthe letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but ^qthe Spirit gives life.

7 Now if ^rthe ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory ^sthat the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in ^tthe ministry of condemnation, ^uthe ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

12 Since we have such a hope, ^vwe are very bold, 13 not like Moses, ^wwho 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. 14 But ^xtheir minds were ^yhardened. For to this day, ^zwhen they read ^aathe old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when ^abone turns ^{▼▼Greek he} to the Lord, ^adthe veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord ^{▼▼Or this Lord} is the Spirit, and where ^afthe Spirit of the Lord is, there is ^agfreedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, ^ahbeholding ^aithe glory of the Lord, ^{▼▼Or reflecting the glory of the Lord} ^akare being transformed into the same image ^alfrom one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.