New English Translation
2 Corinthians 3:3
3revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts.
2 Corinthians 3:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
- New International Version (NIV)You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
Context of 2 Corinthians 3:3
1Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? We don’t need letters of recommendation to you or from you as some other people do, do we? 2You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone, revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts. 4Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. 5Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,
Read all of 2 Corinthians 32 Corinthians 3:3 word by word
φανερούμενοι ὅτι ἐστὲ ἐπιστολὴ Χριστοῦ διακονηθεῖσα ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐγγεγραμμένη οὐ μέλανι ἀλλὰ πνεύματι θεοῦ ζῶντος, οὐκ ἐν πλαξὶν λιθίναις ἀλλ᾽ ἐν πλαξὶν καρδίαις σαρκίναις.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- manifestlyφανερόωphaneroō · to revealG5319
- declaredὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
- to beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- the epistleἐπιστολήepistolē · epistleG1992
- of ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
- ministeredδιακονέωdiakoneō · to serveG1247
- byὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
- usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- writtenἐγγράφωeggraphō · to write inG1449
- notοὐou · noG3756
- with inkμέλανmelan · inkG3188
- butἀλλάalla · butG235
- with the Spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
- of the livingζάωzaō · to liveG2198
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- tablesπλάξplax · tabletG4109
- of stoneλίθινοςlithinos · stoneG3035
- fleshyσάρκινοςsarkinos · fleshlyG4560
- of the heartκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
Cross-references for 2 Corinthians 3:3
- Exodus 31:18He gave Moses two tablets of testimony when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, tablets of stone written by the finger of God.
- Revelation 2:1“To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who has a firm grasp on the seven stars in his right hand – the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands:
- Revelation 3:1“To the angel of the church in Sardis write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation that you are alive, but in reality you are dead.
- 1 Corinthians 8:5If after all there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),
- 2 Corinthians 6:16And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
- Joshua 3:10Joshua continued, “This is how you will know the living God is among you and that he will truly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.
- 1 Samuel 17:26David asked the men who were standing near him, “What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and frees Israel from this humiliation? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he defies the armies of the living God?”
- Psalms 42:2I thirst for God, for the living God. I say, “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?”
- Psalms 84:2I desperately want to be in the courts of the Lord’s temple. My heart and my entire being shout for joy to the living God.
- Jeremiah 10:10The Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. When he shows his anger the earth shakes. None of the nations can stand up to his fury.
- Daniel 6:26I have issued an edict that throughout all the dominion of my kingdom people are to revere and fear the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God; he endures forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed; his authority is forever.
- Matthew 16:16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
- 1 Thessalonians 1:9For people everywhere report how you welcomed us and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God
- Hebrews 9:14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
- Exodus 24:12The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandments that I have written, so that you may teach them.”
- Exodus 34:1The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed.
Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 3:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ - Ye are in our hearts, and Christ has written you there; but yourselves are the epistle of Christ; the change produced in your hearts and lives, and the salvation which you have received, are as truly the work of Christ as a letter dictated and written by a man in his work. Ministered by us - Ye are the writing, but Christ used me as the pen; Christ dictated, and I wrote; and the Divine characters are not…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared - You are made manifest as the epistle of Christ; or you, being made manifest, are the epistle, etc. They had been made manifest to be such by their conversion. The sense is, it is plain, or evident, that ye are the epistle of Christ. To be the epistle of Christ - That which Christ has sent to be our testimonial. He has given this letter of recommendation. He has converted you by our ministry, and that is the best…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. 33. declared--The letter is written so legibly that it can be "read by all men" (2Co 3:2). Translate, "Being manifestly shown to be an Epistle of Christ"; a letter coming manifestly from Christ, and "ministered by us," that is, carried about and presented by us as its (ministering) bearers to those (the world) for whom it is intended: Christ is the Writer and the Recommender, ye are the letter recommending us. written not with ink, but with the Spirit of…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Corinthians 3:3
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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