EasyEnglish Bible 2018
2 Corinthians 3:7
7Moses wrote the words of the old agreement on pieces of stone. It showed how great and powerful God was. Moses' face shone brightly after God spoke to him. It did not stay bright, but the Israelite people still could not look at Moses' face. The old agreement that brought death was powerful.
2 Corinthians 3:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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:
- New International Version (NIV)Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was,
- English Standard Version (ESV)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,
- New King James Version (NKJV)But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, 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,
Context of 2 Corinthians 3:7
5We know that we cannot do this work by ourselves. We never think that. But God makes us able to do it. 6God has made us his servants. So we are able to tell people the message of his new agreement. This new agreement is not about rules. Rules tell people what they must do and they bring death. But God's new agreement comes from his Spirit. And the Spirit brings new life to us, not death. Moses wrote the words of the old agreement on pieces of stone. It showed how great and powerful God was. Moses' face shone brightly after God spoke to him. It did not stay bright, but the Israelite people still could not look at Moses' face. The old agreement that brought death was powerful. 8So the new agreement, which comes from God's Spirit, will show the power of God even more. 9The old agreement showed people that they were guilty. God's new agreement makes people right with him. So surely the new agreement shows God's power even more than the old one did!
Read all of 2 Corinthians 32 Corinthians 3:7 word by word
εἰ δὲ ἡ διακονία τοῦ θανάτου ἐν γράμμασιν ἐντετυπωμένη λίθοις ἐγενήθη ἐν δόξῃ, ὥστε μὴ δύνασθαι ἀτενίσαι τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραὴλ εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον Μωϋσέως διὰ τὴν δόξαν τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ τὴν καταργουμένην,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Butδέde · thenG1161
- ifεἰei · ifG1487
- the ministrationὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the ministrationδιακονίαdiakonia · serviceG1248
- of deathθάνατοςthanatos · deathG2288
- ·ἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- writtenγράμμαgramma · something writtenG1121
- engravenἐντυπόωentupoō · to engraveG1795
- stonesλίθοςlithos · stoneG3037
- wasγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- gloriousδόξαdoxa · gloryG1391
- so thatὥστεhōste · soG5620
- the childrenυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
- of IsraelἸσραήλIsraēl · IsraelG2474
- couldδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
- notμήmē · notG3361
- stedfastly beholdἀτενίζωatenizō · to gazeG816
- ·εἰςeis · towardG1519
- the faceπρόσωπονprosōpon · faceG4383
- of MosesΜωϋσῆς, ΜωσῆςMōseus Mōsēs Mōusēs · MosesG3475
- forδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
- of hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- was to be done awayκαταργέωkatargeō · to abateG2673
Cross-references for 2 Corinthians 3:7
- 2 Corinthians 3:6God has made us his servants. So we are able to tell people the message of his new agreement. This new agreement is not about rules. Rules tell people what they must do and they bring death. But God's new agreement comes from his Spirit. And the Spirit brings new life to us, not death.
- Romans 7:10As a result, I became separate from God, as if I had died. So the command that should have brought life to me brought death instead.
- 2 Corinthians 3:3It 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.
- Exodus 24:12The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain. Stay here. I will give you the flat stones with my Law on them. I have written on them my Law and my commands, so that you can teach them to the people.’
- Exodus 31:18The Lord finished speaking to Moses on Sinai mountain. Then he gave Moses the two flat stones with the special commands that God himself had written on them.
- Exodus 32:15Moses left the Lord and he went down the mountain. He carried in his hands the two flat stones with God's special commands on them. God had written his commands on both sides of the stones.
- Exodus 34:1The Lord said to Moses, ‘Cut two flat stones like the first stones. Then I will write on them all the words that I wrote on the first stones. Those were the stones that you broke into pieces.
- Deuteronomy 4:13He told you about his covenant and the ten commands that he wrote on two flat pieces of stone. He commanded you to obey them.
- Deuteronomy 5:22These are the commands that the Lord spoke to you. You were all there together at the mountain. He spoke with a loud voice from the middle of a great fire. There was a cloud and it was very dark. He gave only those commands. Then he wrote them on two flat stones and he gave them to me.
- Deuteronomy 9:9I climbed the mountain to meet with the Lord. I received the two flat stones with the covenant that he had made with you. I stayed there for 40 days and nights. During that time, I did not eat or drink anything.
- Deuteronomy 10:1At that time, the Lord said to me, ‘Cut out two new flat stones that are like the first stones. Then bring them up to me, on the mountain. You must also use some wood to make a big box.
- Hebrews 9:4The gold altar for incense was in there. The Covenant Box was there too. The box had gold on all its sides. Inside the box was the gold pot that contained the special food called manna. The box also contained Aaron's stick that had grown leaves. It also contained the two flat stones on which God had written the rules of his agreement with his people.
- Deuteronomy 4:8And no other great nation has rules and laws that are as fair as ours. That is God's Law that I am giving to you today.
- Nehemiah 9:13At Sinai mountain, you came down from heaven and you spoke to your people. You gave them your laws, rules and commands, which are good, fair and true.
- Psalms 19:7The law of the Lord is perfect. It makes us strong again. We can trust what the Lord teaches us. He helps ordinary people to be wise.
- Psalms 119:97I love your Law very much. I think about it all the time.
Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 3:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7The ministration of death - Here the apostle evidently intends the law. It was a ministration, or service of death. It was the province of the law to ascertain the duty of man; to assign his duties; to fix penalties for transgressions, etc.; and by it is the knowledge of sin. As man is prone to sin, and is continually committing it, this law was to him a continual ministration of death. Its letter killed; and it was only the Gospel to which it referred…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7But if the ministration of death - In the previous verses, Paul had referred incidentally to the institutions of Moses, and to the superiority of the gospel. He had said that the former were engraved on stones, but the latter on the heart 2 Corinthians 3:3; that the letter of the former tended to death, but the latter to life 2 Corinthians 3:6. This sentiment he proceeds further to illustrate, by showing in what the superior glory of the gospel consisted…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-11The old covenant had moments of glory, like when the face of Moses shone from talking with the Lord (Exodus 34:29–35). The old way has been replaced by the new, eternal way (Hebrews 8:8–13).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. the ministration of death--the legal dispensation, summed up in the Decalogue, which denounces death against man for transgression. written and engraven in stones--There is no "and" in the Greek. The literal translation is, "The ministration of death in letters," of which "engraven on stones" is an explanation. The preponderance of oldest manuscripts is for the English Version reading. But one (perhaps the oldest existing manuscript) has "in the…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Corinthians 3:7
In the dictionaries
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
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