2 Corinthians 3:7

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,
• 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,
• New Living Translation (NLT)The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away.

Context of 2 Corinthians 3:7

5Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6who 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. 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, 8will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory.

2 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 3:6who 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.
• Romans 7:10The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.
• 2 Corinthians 3:3And 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.
• Exodus 24:12The Lord said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction."
• Exodus 31:18And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
• Exodus 32:15Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written.
• Exodus 34:1The Lord said to Moses, "Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
• Deuteronomy 4:13And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone.
• Deuteronomy 5:22"These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
• Deuteronomy 9:9When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water.
• Deuteronomy 10:1"At that time the Lord said to me, 'Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain and make an ark of wood.
• Hebrews 9:4having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
• Deuteronomy 4:8And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?
• Nehemiah 9:13You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments,
• Psalms 19:7The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
• Psalms 119:97Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.

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

• Countenance
• Gospel
• Law
• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Moses
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Corinthians, Second Epistle to the
• Glory
• Plainness
• Sufficiency
• Untaken

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