2 Corinthians 3:2

2 Corinthians 3:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
• New International Version (NIV)You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men;

Context of 2 Corinthians 3:2

1We do not need any more to show that our work is good. Some people need to have letters from other people to say that they do good work. We do not need to show you letters like that. Nor do we need you to write a letter like that for us. You yourselves show that we have done good work. You are like a letter that is written on our lives. Everybody can read that letter and they can understand it. 3It is clear that you are a like a letter that Christ himself has written. We are the people who brought God's message to you. Now people see what God has done in your lives. That is like a letter that they read. But it is not a letter written on paper with ink. It is the Spirit of the living God who wrote it. He did not write it on pieces of stone. Instead, he wrote it deep inside you. 4We know that these things are true. Because of what Christ has done, we trust God to help us.

2 Corinthians 3:2 word by word

ἡ ἐπιστολὴ ἡμῶν ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐγγεγραμμένη ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν, γινωσκομένη καὶ ἀναγινωσκομένη ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yeσύsu · youG4771
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• epistleὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• epistleἐπιστολήepistolē · epistleG1992
• writtenἐγγράφωeggraphō · to write inG1449
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• heartsκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• knownγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• readἀναγινώσκωanaginōskō · to readG314
• ofὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444

Cross-references for 2 Corinthians 3:2

• 1 Corinthians 3:10I am like a good builder. God has given that job to me and he has helped me to do it well. I was the person who built the foundation. Now other people are building on that foundation. But each person must be careful how he builds.
• 1 Corinthians 9:1I am a free man. I am an apostle. I have seen Jesus, our Lord. You yourselves are the result of the work that I do to serve the Lord. You know that is all true.
• 2 Corinthians 7:3I am not saying this to make you feel ashamed. As I have told you before, you are our special friends. We will continue to love you, whether we live together or we die together.
• 2 Corinthians 11:11You must not think that I say this because I do not love you. God himself knows that I love you.
• 2 Corinthians 12:15So I will be happy to give everything that I have to you. I will be happy to give myself too, because I want to help you. Perhaps I love you too much! But that should not mean that you will love me less than you should.
• Philippians 1:7It is right for me to feel like this about all of you, because I love you very much. God has been very kind to all of us. Because you know that, you have continued to help me. You have helped me while I have been here in this prison. You also helped me when I was free and I could teach the good news. I explained to people why the good news is God's true message. Together, we have known how kind God is.
• Romans 1:8First, because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, I thank my God for all of you. Everywhere in the world, people are talking about how you trust in Jesus Christ.
• 1 Corinthians 9:2Other people may not accept me as a true apostle. But you surely must accept me. As a result of my work, you now belong to the Lord. That shows that I am truly his apostle.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:8Because of you, people in many places have clearly heard the message about the Lord. It is not only the people in Macedonia and in Achaia who have heard it. People everywhere now know how you trust God. So, as we travel to different places, we do not need to tell people anything.

Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 3:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Ye are our epistle - I bear the most ardent love to you. I have no need to be put in remembrance of you by any epistles or other means; ye are written in my heart - I have the most affectionate remembrance of you. Known and read of all men - For wherever I go I mention you; speak of your various gifts and graces; and praise your knowledge in the Gospel.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Ye are our epistle - compare 1 Corinthians 9:2. This is a most beautiful and happy turn given to the whole subject. The sense is plain. It is, that the conversion of the Corinthians, under the faithful labors of the apostle, was a better testimonial of his character and fidelity than any letters could be. To see the force of this, it must be remembered: (1)That Corinth was an exceedingly dissolute and abandoned place (see the introduction to the First…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3Paul’s ministry was proven by the lives changed by the good news about Jesus, not by a letter of recommendation (compare Acts 18:27). Christ, who caused this change, used Paul to guide believers to him. The true signs are not in letters written with pen and ink on parchment, but in the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) in human lives and engraved on human hearts.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. our epistle--of recommendation. in our hearts--not letters borne merely in the hands. Your conversion through my instrumentality, and your faith which is "known of all men" by widespread report (1Co 1:4-7), and which is written by memory and affection on my inmost heart and is borne about wherever I go, is my letter of recommendation (1Co 9:2). known and read--words akin in root, sound, and sense (so 2Co 1:13). "Ye are known to be my converts by…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Corinthians 3:2

• Love
• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Corinthians, Second Epistle to the
• Plainness
• Sufficiency
• Untaken
• Corinthians, Second Epistle to the
• Covenant, the New
• Exodus, the Book of
• Law in the New Testament
• Paul, the Apostle

Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings