Ἀρχόμεθα πάλιν ἑαυτοὺς συνιστάνειν; ἢ μὴ χρῄζομεν ὥς τινες συστατικῶν ἐπιστολῶν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἢ ἐξ ὑμῶν;
Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, like some letters of recommendation to you or from you?
The Koine Bible
The Scriptures in Greek with direct English translation.
SBL Greek New Testament
2 Corinthians 3
Greek text followed verse by verse by a direct English translation.
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ἡ ἐπιστολὴ ἡμῶν ὑμεῖς ἐστε, ἐγγεγραμμένη ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν, γινωσκομένη καὶ ἀναγινωσκομένη ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων·
You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all people.
φανερούμενοι ὅτι ἐστὲ ἐπιστολὴ Χριστοῦ διακονηθεῖσα ὑφ' ἡμῶν, ἐγγεγραμμένη οὐ μέλανι ἀλλὰ πνεύματι θεοῦ ζῶντος, οὐκ ἐν πλαξὶν λιθίναις ἀλλ' ἐν πλαξὶν καρδίαις σαρκίναις.
Showing clearly that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of fleshly hearts.
And we have such confidence through the Messiah toward God.
Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to think anything as from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,
ὃς καὶ ἱκάνωσεν ἡμᾶς διακόνους καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐ γράμματος ἀλλὰ πνεύματος, τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέννει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.
who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
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,
But if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face fading,
How will not rather the ministry of the Spirit be in glory?
For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.
For the glorified thing has not been glorified in this part because of the surpassing glory.
For if what is being abolished was glorious, much more will what remains be glorious.
Therefore, having such hope, we use great boldness,
καὶ οὐ καθάπερ Μωϋσῆς ἐτίθει κάλυμμα ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἀτενίσαι τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραὴλ εἰς τὸ τέλος τοῦ καταργουμένου.
And he did not put a veil over his face like Moses, so that the sons of Israel would not look steadily at the end of what was being abolished.
ἀλλὰ ἐπωρώθη τὰ νοήματα αὐτῶν. ἄχρι γὰρ τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας τὸ αὐτὸ κάλυμμα ἐπὶ τῇ ἀναγνώσει τῆς παλαιᾶς διαθήκης μένει μὴ ἀνακαλυπτόμενον, ὅτι ἐν Χριστῷ καταργεῖται,
But their minds were hardened. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the old covenant, because it is abolished in Christ,
But until today, when Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart.
But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
ἡμεῖς δὲ πάντες ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόξαν κυρίου κατοπτριζόμενοι τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα μεταμορφούμεθα ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, καθάπερ ἀπὸ κυρίου πνεύματος.
But we all, with unveiled face, reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord Spirit.