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2 Corinthians 3 - New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Chapter 3

A Letter from God.[a] 1 Are we beginning once again to commend ourselves to you? Surely, as is true in some cases, we do not need letters of recommendation to you or from you. 2 You yourselves are our letter, one that is written on our hearts, so that it may be known and read by all. 3 And you make it clear that you are a letter from Christ entrusted to our care, a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, and written not on tablets of stone[b] but on tablets of the human heart.

4 Such is the complete confidence in God that we have through Christ. 5 Obviously, we are not competent of ourselves to take credit for anything as coming from us. Our competence comes from God 6 who has empowered us to be the ministers of a new covenant, not written but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Ministers of a New Covenant.[c] 7 Now if the ministry of death, engraved with letters on stone, was so glorious that the Israelites could not fix their glance on the face of Moses because of its glory, a glory that would soon fade, 8 how much greater will be the glory of the ministry of the Spirit?

9 For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much richer in glory will be the ministry of righteousness! 10 Indeed, what was once glorious is now without any glory in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 For if what was destined to fade away was glorious, how much greater will be the glory of that which endures!

12 The Lord Is the Spirit.[d] Therefore, since we have such hope, we can act with complete confidence, 13 and not like Moses who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites could not observe the radiance that was fading away. 14 However, their minds were hardened. Even to this very day, the same veil remains unlifted during the reading of the old covenant,[e] since only in Christ is it set aside. 15 Indeed, to this very day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts.

16 However, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now this Lord is the Spirit,[f] and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And as we gaze upon the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, all of us are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 3:1 Preachers are circulating, exhibiting and collecting their letters of credibility from one Church to another. But how futile are merely human recommendations and written documents! The apostolate is attested by one’s life. The existence of the community of Corinth and the Spirit’s action in it certify that Paul and his coworkers have been chosen by God. This is the new covenant announced by the Prophets that inserts itself into the lives of individuals and peoples (see Jer 31:31-33; Ezek 11:19; 36:26).
    For the first time in Christian literature, the idea of a “New Covenant” and the term itself make their appearance, and a clear distinction is drawn between the two Testaments. Paul has understood that there has been a radical change: from the letter to the Spirit, from the written book to the live hearts of human beings.
  2. 2 Corinthians 3:3 Tablets of stone: a reference to the Law given on Sinai (see Ex 24:12).
  3. 2 Corinthians 3:7 Proceeding in the manner of the rabbis, Paul freely interprets an episode in the life of Moses (see Ex 34:29-35) in order to assert the superiority of the New Testament. Set down by Moses, the Law denounces sin without giving the power to conquer sin; it thus condemns people without glorifying or saving them. It is not God’s definitive gift.
    Indeed, Paul dares to compare the ministry of the apostles to that of Moses, which was the most prestigious in the Old Testament. He dares to state that the apostolic ministry is greater than that of the founder of the Jewish people. And he invites everyone to enter fully into this New Covenant so as to surpass definitively the universe of the Old Testament. The Letter to the Romans will later offer a lengthy development of this singularly new vision in that age.
  4. 2 Corinthians 3:12 Paul continues to comment in rabbinical fashion on the veil of Moses. The veil is now over the faces of the Jews. He makes clear that they refuse to accept the provisional character of the Old Covenant—they do not truly understand either Moses or the Old Testament, for Christ is the key to both. It is he who established a new and definitive Covenant, which leads to life and is the power of liberation, the source of freedom. The light of the risen Christ is reflected in the life of believers by their transformation in an ever more profound manner.
  5. 2 Corinthians 3:14 Old covenant, i.e., “Old Testament”: this is the first time that this expression, referring to a collection of Scriptures, appears in a Christian text.
  6. 2 Corinthians 3:17 This Lord is the Spirit: the “Lord” to whom the Christian turns (v. 16) is the life-giving Spirit of the living God (vv. 6, 8), who is also the Spirit of Christ. This Spirit is the inaugurator of the New Covenant and the ministry.

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2 Corinthians 3 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

3 Do we begin again to recommend ourselves, except we need, as some, letters of recommendation unto you, or from you? 2 our letter ye are, having been written in our hearts, known and read by all men, 3 manifested that ye are a letter of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Sp...
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2 Corinthians 3 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

3 Begin we therefore again to praise us selves? or whether we need, as some men, epistles of praising to you, or of you? [Begin we again to commend, or praise, ourselves? or whether we need, as some, praising letters to you, or of you?] 2 Ye be our epistle, written in our hearts, which is known and ...
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2 Corinthians 3 - Worldwide English (New Testament) (WE)

3 Do you think we are starting again to tell how good we are? Do we need letters to tell about us, as some teachers do? We do not need letters to you or from you to praise us. 2 You yourselves are our letter. This letter has been written in our hearts. All people can read it and understand it. 3 All...
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2 Corinthians 3 - World English Bible (WEB)

3 Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as do some, letters of commendation to you or from you? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men, 3 being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of...
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2 Corinthians 3 - The Voice (VOICE)

3 Are we back to page one? Do we need to gather some recommendations to prove our validity to you? Or do we need to take your letter of commendation to others to gain credibility? 2 You are our letter, every word burned onto our[a] hearts to be read by everyone. 3 You are the living letter of the ...
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2 Corinthians 3 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

A New Covenant on Hearts of Flesh3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 It is clear that you are a letter from Messiah delivered by us—written...
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2 Corinthians 3 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Ministers of the New Covenant3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on your[a] hearts, to be known and read by all men; 3 and you show that you are a letter ...
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2 Corinthians 3 - Revised Geneva Translation (RGT)

3 Do we begin to praise ourselves again? Or do we need, as some others, letters of recommendation to you, or of recommendation from you? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, which is understood and read by all mankind; 3 in that you appear to be the letter of Christ, ministered by us, and wr...
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2 Corinthians 3 - New Testament for Everyone (NTE)

The Letter and the Spirit3 So: we’re starting to ‘recommend ourselves’ again, are we? Or perhaps we need – as some do – official references to give to you? Or perhaps even to get from you? 2 You are our official reference! It’s written on our hearts! Everybody can know it and read it! 3 It’s quite...
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2 Corinthians 3 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Ministers of the New Covenant3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we?(A)2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by all, 3 and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepare...
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2 Corinthians 3 - New Matthew Bible (NMB)

Paul praises the preaching of the gospel above the preaching of the law. 3 We begin to praise ourselves again. Do we, like some others, need letters of recommendation to you? or letters of recommendation from you? 2 You are our letter written in our hearts, which is understood and read by all peopl...
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2 Corinthians 3 - New Living Translation (NLT)

3 Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not! 2 The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our[a] hearts; everyo...
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2 Corinthians 3 - New Life Version (NLV)

The Old and the New Way3 Are we making it sound as if we think we are so important? Other people write letters about themselves. Do we need to write such a letter to you? 2 You are our letter. You are written in our hearts. You are known and read by all men. 3 You are as a letter from Christ writt...
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2 Corinthians 3 - New King James Version (NKJV)

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