2 Corinthians 3:7

The Greater Glory of the Spirit’s Ministry

3:7 But if the ministry that produced death – carved in letters on stone tablets ¹  – came with glory, so that the Israelites ²  could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face ³  (a glory ⁴  which was made ineffective), ⁵ 

2 Corinthians 3:9

3:9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation, ⁶  how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness ⁷  excel ⁸  in glory!

Deuteronomy 27:26

27:26 ‘Cursed is the one who refuses to keep the words of this law.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’

Romans 3:20

3:20 For no one is declared righteous before him ⁹  by the works of the law, ¹⁰  for through the law comes ¹¹  the knowledge of sin.

Romans 4:15

4:15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression ¹²  either.

Romans 7:9-11

7:9 And I was once alive apart from the law, but with the coming of the commandment sin became alive 7:10 and I died. So ¹³  I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life brought death! ¹⁴  7:11 For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died. ¹⁵ 

Galatians 3:10-12

3:10 For all who ¹⁶  rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.” ¹⁷  3:11 Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous one will live by faith. ¹⁸  3:12 But the law is not based on faith, ¹⁹  but the one who does the works of the law ²⁰  will live by them. ²¹ 

Galatians 3:21

3:21 Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? ²²  Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. ²³ 

¹ tn Grk “on stones”; but since this is clearly an allusion to the tablets of the Decalogue (see 2 Cor 3:3) the word “tablets” was supplied in the translation to make the connection clear.

² tn Grk “so that the sons of Israel.”

³ sn The glory of his face. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the tablets of the Decalogue, the people were afraid to approach him because his face was so radiant (Exod 34:29-30).

⁴ tn The words “a glory” are not in the Greek text, but the reference to “glory” has been repeated from the previous clause for clarity.

⁵ tn Or “which was transitory.” Traditionally this phrase is translated as “which was fading away.” The verb καταργέω in the corpus Paulinum uniformly has the meaning “to render inoperative, ineffective”; the same nuance is appropriate here. The glory of Moses’ face was rendered ineffective by the veil Moses wore. For discussion of the meaning of this verb in this context, see S. J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the History of Israel (WUNT 81), 301-13. A similar translation has been adopted in the two other occurrences of the verb in this paragraph in vv. 11 and 13.

⁶ tn Grk “the ministry of condemnation”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produced condemnation.”

⁷ tn Grk “the ministry of righteousness”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produces righteousness.”

⁸ tn Traditionally, “abound.”

⁹ sn An allusion to Ps 143:2.

¹⁰ tn Grk “because by the works of the law no flesh is justified before him.” Some recent scholars have understood the phrase ἒργα νόμου (erga nomou, “works of the law”) to refer not to obedience to the Mosaic law generally, but specifically to portions of the law that pertain to things like circumcision and dietary laws which set the Jewish people apart from the other nations (e.g., J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC], 1:155). Other interpreters, like C. E. B. Cranfield (“‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT 43 [1991]: 89-101) reject this narrow interpretation for a number of reasons, among which the most important are: (1) The second half of v. 20, “for through the law comes the knowledge of sin,” is hard to explain if the phrase “works of the law” is understood in a restricted sense; (2) the plural phrase “works of the law” would have to be understood in a different sense from the singular phrase “the work of the law” in 2:15; (3) similar phrases involving the law in Romans (2:13, 14; 2:25, 26, 27; 7:25; 8:4; and 13:8) which are naturally related to the phrase “works of the law” cannot be taken to refer to circumcision (in fact, in 2:25 circumcision is explicitly contrasted with keeping the law). Those interpreters who reject the “narrow” interpretation of “works of the law” understand the phrase to refer to obedience to the Mosaic law in general.

¹¹ tn Grk “is.”

¹² tn Or “violation.”

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate the result of the statement in the previous verse. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

¹⁴ tn Grk “and there was found in/for me the commandment which was for life – this was for death.”

¹⁵ tn Or “and through it killed me.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “For as many as.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things written in the book of the law, to do them.”

¹⁸ tn Or “The one who is righteous by faith will live” (a quotation from Hab 2:4).

¹⁹ tn Grk “is not from faith.”

²⁰ tn Grk “who does these things”; the referent (the works of the law, see 3:5) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²¹ sn A quotation from Lev 18:5. The phrase the works of the law is an editorial expansion on the Greek text (see previous note); it has been left as normal typeface to indicate it is not part of the OT text.

²² tc The reading τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou, “of God”) is well attested in א A C D (F G read θεοῦ without the article) Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co. However, Ì⁴⁶ B d Ambst lack the words. Ì⁴⁶ and B perhaps should not to be given as much weight as they normally are, since the combination of these two witnesses often produces a secondary shorter reading against all others. In addition, one might expect that if the shorter reading were original other variants would have crept into the textual tradition early on. But 104 (a.d. 1087) virtually stands alone with the variant τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou, “of Christ”). Nevertheless, if τοῦ θεοῦ were not part of the original text, it is the kind of variant that would be expected to show up early and often, especially in light of Paul’s usage elsewhere (Rom 4:20; 2 Cor 1:20). A slight preference should be given to the τοῦ θεοῦ over the omission. NA²⁷ rightly places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

²³ tn Or “have been based on the law.”