English Standard Version
2 Corinthians 3:8
8will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?
2 Corinthians 3:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
- New International Version (NIV)will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
- New King James Version (NKJV)how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?
- New Living Translation (NLT)Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?
Context of 2 Corinthians 3:8
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. 7Now 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, will 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. 10Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it.
Read all of 2 Corinthians 32 Corinthians 3:8 word by word
πῶς οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἡ διακονία τοῦ πνεύματος ἔσται ἐν δόξῃ;Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Howπῶςpōs · how?!G4459
- shallεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- notοὐχίouchi · not!G3780
- the ministrationὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the ministrationδιακονίαdiakonia · serviceG1248
- of the spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
- ratherμᾶλλονmallon · moreG3123
- ·ἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- gloriousδόξαdoxa · gloryG1391
Cross-references for 2 Corinthians 3:8
- 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.
- 2 Corinthians 11:4For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
- Isaiah 11:2And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
- Isaiah 44:3For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
- Isaiah 59:21"And as for me, this is my covenant with them," says the Lord: "My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring," says the Lord, "from this time forth and forevermore."
- Joel 2:28"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
- John 7:39Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
- Acts 2:17"'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
- Acts 2:32This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
- Romans 8:9You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
- 1 Corinthians 3:16Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?
- 1 Corinthians 12:4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
- Galatians 3:2Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
- Galatians 5:5For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
- Ephesians 2:18For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 3:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8The ministration of the Spirit - The Gospel dispensation, which gives the true spiritual sense of the law. Be rather glorious? - Forasmuch as the thing signified is of infinitely more consequence than that by which it is signified. The Thing bread will preserve a man alive; the Word bread can give life to nothing.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8How shall not the ministration of the Spirit - This is an argument from the less to the greater. Several things in it are worthy of notice: (1) The proper contrast to the “ministration of death” 2 Corinthians 3:7, would have been ministration of life.‘ But Paul chose rather to call it the ministration of the spirit;‘ as the source of life; or as conferring higher dignity on the gospel than to have called it simply the ministration of life. (2) by the…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. 88. be rather glorious--literally, "be rather (that is, still more, invested) in glory." "Shall be," that is, shall be found to be in part now, but fully when the glory of Christ and His saints shall be revealed.Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Corinthians 3:8
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries