2 Corinthians 3:9-18

3:9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation,¹ how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness² excel³ in glory! 3:10 For indeed, what had been glorious now⁴ has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it.⁵ 3:11 For if what was made ineffective⁶ came with⁷ glory, how much more has what remains⁸ come in glory! 3:12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we behave with great boldness,⁹ 3:13 and not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites¹⁰ from staring¹¹ at the result¹² of the glory that was made ineffective.¹³ 3:14 But their minds were closed.¹⁴ For to this very day, the same veil remains when they hear the old covenant read.¹⁵ It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away.¹⁶ 3:15 But until this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds,¹⁷ 3:16 but when one¹⁸ turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.¹⁹ 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present,²⁰ there is freedom. 3:18 And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord,²¹ are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another,²² which is from²³ the Lord, who is the Spirit.²⁴

¹tn Grk “the ministry of condemnation”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produced condemnation.”

²tn Grk “the ministry of righteousness”; translated as an objective genitive, “the ministry that produces righteousness.”

³tn Traditionally, “abound.”

⁴tn Grk “in this case.”

⁵tn The words “of what replaced it” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify the meaning.

⁶tn Or “what was fading away.” See note on “which was made ineffective” in v. 7.

⁷tn Or “through” (διά, dia).

⁸tn Or “what is permanent.”

⁹tn Or “we employ great openness of speech.”

¹⁰tn Grk “the sons of Israel.”

¹¹tn Or “from gazing intently.”

¹²tn Or “end.” The word τέλος (telos) can mean both “a point of time marking the end of a duration, end, termination, cessation” and “the goal toward which a movement is being directed, end, goal, outcome” (see BDAG 998-999 s.v.). The translation accepts the interpretation that Moses covered the glory of his face with the veil to prevent Israel from being judged by the glory of God (see S. J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the History of Israel [WUNT 81], 347-62); in this case the latter meaning for τέλος is more appropriate.

¹³tn Or “was fading away”; Grk “on the result of what was made ineffective.” The referent (glory) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See note on “which was made ineffective” in v. 7.

¹⁴tn Grk “their minds were hardened.”

¹⁵tn Grk “the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant”; the phrase “they hear” has been introduced (“when they hear the old covenant read”) to make the link with the “Israelites” (v. 13) whose minds were closed (v. 14a) more obvious to the reader.

¹⁶tn Or “only in Christ is it eliminated.”

¹⁷tn Grk “their heart.”

¹⁸tn Or perhaps “when(ever) he turns,” referring to Moses.

¹⁹sn An allusion to Exod 34:34. The entire verse may refer to Moses, viewing him as a type portraying the Jewish convert to Christianity in Paul’s day.

²⁰tn Grk “where the Spirit of the Lord is”; the word “present” is supplied to specify that the presence of the Lord’s Spirit is emphasized rather than the mere existence of the Lord’s Spirit.

²¹tn Or “we all with unveiled faces beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror.”

²²tn Grk “from glory to glory.”

²³tn Grk “just as from.”

²⁴tn Grk “from the Lord, the Spirit”; the genitive πνεύματος (pneumato") has been translated as a genitive of apposition.