New Living Translation
2 Corinthians 3:7
7The 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.
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
5It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 6He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. 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. 8Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? 9If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!
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 3:6He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.
- Romans 7:10and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead.
- 2 Corinthians 3:3Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.
- Exodus 24:12Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.”
- Exodus 31:18When the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, written by the finger of God.
- Exodus 32:15Then Moses turned and went down the mountain. He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.
- Exodus 34:1Then the Lord told Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. I will write on them the same words that were on the tablets you smashed.
- Deuteronomy 4:13He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.
- Deuteronomy 5:22“The Lord spoke these words to all of you assembled there at the foot of the mountain. He spoke with a loud voice from the heart of the fire, surrounded by clouds and deep darkness. This was all he said at that time, and he wrote his words on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
- Deuteronomy 9:9This happened when I was on the mountain receiving the tablets of stone inscribed with the words of the covenant that the Lord had made with you. I was there for forty days and forty nights, and all that time I ate no food and drank no water.
- Deuteronomy 10:1“At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. Also make a wooden Ark—a sacred chest to store them in. Come up to me on the mountain,
- Hebrews 9:4In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
- Deuteronomy 4:8And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?
- Nehemiah 9:13“You came down at Mount Sinai and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and instructions that were just, and decrees and commands that were good.
- Psalms 19:7The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Psalms 119:97Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long.
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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