2 Corinthians 3:12-18

3:12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we behave with great boldness,¹ 3:13 and not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites² from staring³ at the result⁴ of the glory that was made ineffective.⁵ 3:14 But their minds were closed.⁶ For to this very day, the same veil remains when they hear the old covenant read.⁷ It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away.⁸ 3:15 But until this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds,⁹ 3:16 but when one¹⁰ turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.¹¹ 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present,¹² there is freedom. 3:18 And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord,¹³ are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another,¹⁴ which is from¹⁵ the Lord, who is the Spirit.¹⁶

¹tn Or “we employ great openness of speech.”

²tn Grk “the sons of Israel.”

³tn Or “from gazing intently.”

⁴tn 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.

⁵tn 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.

⁶tn Grk “their minds were hardened.”

⁷tn 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.

⁸tn Or “only in Christ is it eliminated.”

⁹tn Grk “their heart.”

¹⁰tn Or perhaps “when(ever) he turns,” referring to Moses.

¹¹sn 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.

¹²tn 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.

¹³tn Or “we all with unveiled faces beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror.”

¹⁴tn Grk “from glory to glory.”

¹⁵tn Grk “just as from.”

¹⁶tn Grk “from the Lord, the Spirit”; the genitive πνεύματος (pneumato") has been translated as a genitive of apposition.