2Co 3:1  Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles (letter) of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?

2Co 3:2  You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:

2Co 3:3  Forasmuch as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle (letter) of (the) Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God (God The Father); not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

2Co 3:4  And such trust have we through (the) Christ to God-ward:

2Co 3:5  Not that we are sufficient (good enough) of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God (The Father - His Holy Spirit);

2Co 3:6  Who also has made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit (His Spirit) gives life.

2Co 3:7  But if the ministration of death, written and engraved in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away (fading):

2Co 3:8  How shall not the ministration of the spirit (His Spirit) be rather glorious?

2Co 3:9  For if the ministration of condemnation (requirement of the Law - death) be glory, much more does the ministration of righteousness (give Life) exceed in glory.

2Co 3:10  For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excellence (surpassed, exceeded).

2Co 3:11  For if that which is done away (set aside penalty) was glorious, much more that which remains is glorious (penalty set aside, that without penalty remains).

2Co 3:12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:

2Co 3:13  And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished (being set aside - the penalty is abolished):

2Co 3:14  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remains the same vail untaken (not removed) away in the reading of the Old Testament; which vail is done away (removed) in The Christ (The Anointed One).

2Co 3:15  But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

2Co 3:16  Nevertheless when it (they) shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (

                    

2Co 3:1  Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?

2Co 3:2  You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.

2Co 3:3  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.

2Co 3:4  Such confidence as this is ours through Christ (The Anointed) before God.

2Co 3:5  Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

2Co 3:6  He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2Co 3:7  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, fading though it was,

2Co 3:8  will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?

2Co 3:9  If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!

2Co 3:10  For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory.

2Co 3:11  And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

2Co 3:12  Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

2Co 3:13  We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.

2Co 3:14  What is more, their minds were made stone like; for to this day the same veil remains over them when they read the Old Covenant; it has not been unveiled, because only by the Messiah is the veil taken away.

2Co 3:15  Yes, till today, whenever Moshe is read, a veil lies over their heart.

2Co 3:16  "But," says the Torah, "whenever someone turns to ADONAI, the veil is taken away."a

2Co 3:17  Now, "ADONAI" in this text means the Spirit. And where the Spirit of ADONAI is, there is freedom.

2Co 3:18  So all of us, with faces unveiled, see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord; and we are being changed into his very image, from one degree of glory to the next, by ADONAI the Spirit.

2Co 3:1  Are we starting to recommend ourselves again? Or do we, like some, need letters of recommendation either to you or from you?

2Co 3:2  You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.

2Co 3:3  You make it clear that you are a letter from the Messiah placed in our care, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on human hearts.

2Co 3:4  Such is the confidence we have through the Messiah toward God.

2Co 3:5  It is not that we are competent in ourselves to count anything as having come from us; on the contrary, our competence is from God.

2Co 3:6  He has even made us competent to be workers serving a New Covenant, the essence of which is not a written text but the Spirit. For the written text brings death, but the Spirit gives life.

2Co 3:7  Now if that which worked death, by means of a written text engraved on stone tablets, came with glory - such glory that the people of Isra'el could not stand to look at Moshe's face because of its brightness, even though that brightness was already fading away -

2Co 3:8  won't the working of the Spirit be accompanied by even greater glory?

2Co 3:9  For if there was glory in what worked to declare people guilty, how much more must the glory abound in what works to declare people innocent!

2Co 3:10  In fact, by comparison with this greater glory, what was made glorious before has no glory now.

2Co 3:11  For if there was glory in what faded away, how much more glory must there be in what lasts.

2Co 3:12  Therefore, with a hope like this, we are very open -

2Co 3:13  unlike Moshe, who put a veil over his face, so that the people of Isra'el would not see the fading brightness come to an end.

2Co 3:14  What is more, their minds were made stone-like; for to this day the same veil remains over them when they read the Old Covenant; it has not been unveiled, because only by the Messiah is the veil taken away.

2Co 3:15  Yes, till today, whenever Moshe is read, a veil lies over their heart.

2Co 3:16  "But," says the Torah, "whenever someone turns to ADONAI, the veil is taken away."a

2Co 3:17  Now, "ADONAI" in this text means the Spirit. And where the Spirit of ADONAI is, there is freedom.

2Co 3:18  So all of us, with faces unveiled, see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord; and we are being changed into his very image, from one degree of glory to the next, by ADONAI the Spirit.