and not as Moses, who put a veil on his face, that the children of Israel wouldn’t look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away. But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away. But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
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2 Corinthians 3:13-16 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech, and not as Moses, who put a veil on his face, that the children of Israel wouldn’t look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away. But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away. But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Parallel Translations
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and not as Moses, who put a veil on his face, that the children of Israel wouldn’t look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away.
But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away.
But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.
But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
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and do not as Moses which put a vayle over his face that the children of Israel shuld not se for what purpose that served which is put awaye.
But their myndes were blinded. For untill this daye remayneth the same coveringe vntake awaye in the olde testament when they reade it which in Christ is put awaye.
But even vnto this daye when Moses is redde the vayle hangeth before their hertes.
Neverthelesse when they tourne to the Lorde the vayle shalbe taken awaye.
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And we are not as Moses, which put a vaile vpon his face, that the children of Israel should not looke vnto the ende of that which should be abolished.
Therefore their mindes are hardened: for vntill this day remaineth the same couering vntaken away in the reading of the olde Testament, which vaile in Christ is put away.
But euen vnto this day, whe Moses is read, the vaile is laid ouer their hearts.
Neuertheles when their heart shall be turned to the Lord, the vaile shalbe taken away.
Cross-references (51)
- 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (v14) Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who are dying, in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the…
- Acts 26:18 (v14) to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins…
- Exodus 34:33-35 (v13) When Moses was done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But when Moses went in before Yahweh to speak with him, he took the veil…
- Exodus 34:34 (v16) But when Moses went in before Yahweh to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and he came out, and spoke to the children…
- Isaiah 25:7 (vv14, 16) He will destroy in this mountain the surface of the covering that covers all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
Show all 50 cross-references
- Isaiah 29:18 (v16) In that day, the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
- Romans 11:25 (v14) For I don’t desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won’t be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening…
- John 6:45-46 (v16) It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father and has learned, comes to me.…
- John 12:40 (v14) “He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and would…
- Romans 11:7-10 (v14) What then? That which Israel seeks for, that he didn’t obtain, but the chosen ones obtained it, and the rest were hardened. According as it…
- 2 Corinthians 4:6 (v14) seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory…
- Ephesians 1:17-20 (v14) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him,…
- Jeremiah 31:34 (v16) They will no longer each teach his neighbor, and every man teach his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh;’ for they will all know me, from their…
- Matthew 13:11 (v14) He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.
- John 8:12 (v14) Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have…
- Romans 11:23 (v16) They also, if they don’t continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
- Isaiah 44:18 (v14) They don’t know, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they can’t see; and their hearts, that they can’t understand.
- Jeremiah 5:21 (v14) ‘Hear this now, foolish people without understanding, who have eyes, and don’t see, who have ears, and don’t hear:
- Ezekiel 12:2 (v14) “Son of man, you dwell in the middle of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see, and don’t see, who have ears to hear, and don’t hear;…
- Matthew 6:23 (v14) But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the…
- Matthew 16:17 (v14) Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
- Luke 18:31-34 (v14) He took the twelve aside, and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets…
- Luke 24:25-27 (v14) He said to them, “Foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Didn’t the Christ have to suffer these…
- Luke 24:44-46 (v14) He said to them, “This is what I told you, while I was still with you, that all things which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets,…
- John 9:39-41 (v14) Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the…
- Acts 16:14 (v14) A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us. The Lord opened her heart to…
- Romans 11:25-27 (v16) For I don’t desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won’t be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening…
- Ephesians 2:14-15 (v13) For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law…
- Psalms 69:23 (v14) Let their eyes be darkened, so that they can’t see. Let their backs be continually bent.
- Isaiah 6:10 (v14) Make the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears,…
- Isaiah 26:10-12 (v14) Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness. In the land of uprightness he will deal wrongfully, and will not see…
- Isaiah 42:18-20 (v14) “Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind, but my servant? Or who is as deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is…
- Isaiah 56:10 (v14) His watchmen are blind. They are all without knowledge. They are all mute dogs. They can’t bark— dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
- Isaiah 59:10 (v14) We grope for the wall like the blind. Yes, we grope as those who have no eyes. We stumble at noon as if it were twilight. Among those who…
- Lamentations 3:40 (v16) Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Yahweh.
- Matthew 13:13-15 (v14) Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand. In them the…
- John 12:46 (v14) I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness.
- Acts 13:15 (v14) After the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of…
- 2 Corinthians 3:7 (v13) But if the service of death, written engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly on the…
- Colossians 2:17 (v13) which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.
- Hebrews 10:1-9 (v13) For the law, having a shadow of the good to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which…
- Deuteronomy 4:30 (v16) When you are in oppression, and all these things have come on you, in the latter days you shall return to Yahweh your God and listen to his…
- Deuteronomy 30:10 (v16) if you will obey Yahweh your God’s voice, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law; if you turn…
- Isaiah 54:13 (v16) All your children will be taught by Yahweh; and your children’s peace will be great.
- 2 Corinthians 3:6 (v14) who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives…
- Galatians 3:23-24 (v13) But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, confined for the faith which should afterwards be revealed. So that the law…
- Hosea 3:4-5 (v16) For the children of Israel shall live many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without sacred stone, and…
- Acts 13:27-29 (v15) For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every…
- Acts 28:26-27 (v14) saying, ‘Go to this people and say, in hearing, you will hear, but will in no way understand. In seeing, you will see, but will in no way…
- Romans 10:4 (v13) For Christ is the fulfillment of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
50 distinct cross-references across this passage (51 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 16 13. Not as Moses Paul is not reasoning as…
13. Not as Moses Paul is not reasoning as to the intention of Moses. For as it was his office, to publish the law to his people, so, there can be no doubt that he was desirous, that its true meaning should be apprehended by all, and that he did not intentionally involve his doctrine in obscurity, but that the fault was on the part of the people. As, therefore, he could not renew the minds of the hearers, he was contented with faithfully discharging the duty assigned to him. Nay more, the Lord having commanded him to put a veil between his face and the eyes of the beholders, he obeyed. Nothing, therefore, is said here to the dishonor of Moses, for he was not required to do more than the commission, that was assigned to him, called for. In addition to this, that bluntness, or that weak and obtuse vision, of which Paul is now speaking, is confined to unbelievers exclusively, because the law though wrapt up in figures, did nevertheless impart wisdom to babes, Psalm 19:7
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v13 He expoundeth by the way the allegory of Moses’…
He expoundeth by the way the allegory of Moses’ covering, which was a token of the darkness and weakness that is in men, which were rather dulled by the bright shining of the Law, then lightened, which covering was taken away by the coming of Christ, who lighteneth the hearts, and turneth them to the Lord, that we may be brought from the slavery of this blindness, and set in the liberty of the light, by the virtue of Christ’s Spirit.
Into the very bottom of Moses’ ministry.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv13–16 13 And not as Moses, which put a vail…
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:
Ver. 13. Could not stedfastly, &c.] Could not clearly see Christ the end of the law, Rom 10:4; Gal 3:14.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv13–16 We have the history to which this passage of…
We have the history to which this passage of the apostle relateth, in Exo 34:33,35, where we read, that when Moses had done speaking, he put a veil on his face. The apostle here elegantly turns that passage into an allegory, and opens to us a mystery hidden under that piece of history. That shining of Moses’s face, in a type, prefigured the shining of Him who was to be the light of the world; as he was from eternity the brightness of his Father’s glory. Moses’s covering himself with a veil, signifies God’s hiding the mystery of Christ from ages. Moses did not put a veil on his face for that end, that the children of Israel might not look upon him; but this was the event of it, which also prefigured the blinding of the Jews; they first shut their eyes and would not see, then God judicially sealed their eyes that they should not see, that Christ was the end of the law for righteousness, the true Messiah, and the Mediator between God and man; they could not (as the apostle expresseth it) see
to the end of that which is abolished; to the end of the legal dispensation, to the end of all the types of Christ which were in the Levitical law. Now, (saith the apostle), we do not do so, but make it our business to preach the gospel with as much openness, and plainness, and freedom, as is imaginable. The whole history of the gospel justifieth what this text affirmeth concerning the Jews; that they could not see that Christ, by his coming, had put an end to the law, and the righteousness thereof. We find upon all occasions how much the Pharisees, and those who adhered to that sect, stuck in the law, to the hinderance of their receiving of, or believing in, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv13–16 And not as Moses, which put a veil over…
And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face,.... This he did, because there was such a glory upon his face when he came down from the mount, that the Israelites could not bear to look upon him; and also to take off that dread of him which was upon them, for they were afraid to come nigh him; and that so they might be able to hearken and attend to the words of the law, he delivered to them: the account of Moses's putting on this veil is in Exo 34:33 where Onkelos renders it by , "the house of the face", or a "mask": and Jarchi on the place says it was a "garment", which he put before his face; and both the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem call it "a linen cloth": now this veil upon his face had a mystery in it; it was an emblem of the Gospel being veiled under the law, and of the darkness and obscurity of the law in the business of life and salvation; and also of the future blindness of the Jews, when the glory of the Gospel should break forth in the times of Christ and his apostles; and which was such,
that the children of Israel, the Jews, as in the times of Moses, so in the times of Christ and his apostles,
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could not steadfastly look to; not upon the face of Moses, whose face was veiled; not that they might not look, but because they could not bear to look upon him; but they could not look
to the end of that which is abolished; that is, to Christ, who is the end of the law, which is abrogated by him: to him they could not look, nor could they see him to be the fulfilling end of the law for righteousness; which being fulfilled, is done away by him; and this because of the blindness of their hearts, of which blindness the veil on Moses' face was typical: though the Alexandrian copy and the Vulgate Latin version read, "to the face of him which is abolished".
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 16 And we do not act as Moses did, who…
And we do not act as Moses did, who put a veil over his face - Which is to be understood with regard to his writings also. So that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly to the end of that dispensation which is now abolished - The end of this was Christ. The whole Mosaic dispensation tended to, and terminated in, him; but the Israelites had only a dim, wavering sight of him, of whom Moses spake in an obscure, covert manner.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv13, 14, 16 Verse 13. And not as Moses] The splendour of…
Verse 13. And not as Moses] The splendour of Moses' countenance was so great that the Israelites could not bear to look upon his face, and therefore he was obliged to veil his face: this, it appears, he did typically, to represent the types and shadows by which the whole dispensation of which he was the minister was covered. So that the Israelites could not steadfastly look-could not then have the full view or discernment of that in which the Mosaic dispensation should issue and terminate.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv13–16 And not as Moses - Our conduct is not…
And not as Moses - Our conduct is not like that of Moses. We make no attempt to conceal anything in regard to the nature, design, and duration of the gospel. We leave nothing designedly in mystery.
Which put a vail over his face - That is, when he came down from Mount Sinai, and when his face shone. Exo 34:33, “and until Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.” He put off this veil whenever he went to speak with God, but put on again when he delivered his commands to the people, What was the design of this, Moses has not himself declared. The statement which he makes in Exodus would lead us to suppose that it was on account of the exceeding brightness and dazzling splendor which shone around him, and which made it difficult to look intently upon him; and that this was in part the reason, even Paul himself seems to intimate in 2Co 3:7. He, however, in this verse intimates that there was another design, which was that he might be, as Doddridge expresses it, “a kind of type and figure of his own dispensation.”
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That the children of Israel - Mr. Locke understands this of the apostles, and supposes that it means, “We do not veil the light, so that the obscurity of what we deliver should hinder the children of Israel from seeing in the Law which was to be done away, Christ who is the end of the Law.” But this interpretation is forced and unnatural. The phrase rendered “that” πρός τὸ pros to evidently connects what is affirmed here with the statement about Moses; and shows that the apostle means to say that Moses put the veil on his face in order that the children of Israel should not be able to see to the end of his institutions. That Moses had such a design, and that the putting on of the veil was emblematic of the nature of his institutions, Paul here distinctly affirms. No one can prove that this was not his design; and in a land and time when types, and emblems, and allegorical modes of speech were much used, it is highly probable that Moses meant to intimate that the end and full purpose of his institutions were designedly concealed.
Could not stedfastly look - Could not gaze intently upon (ἀτενίσαι atenisai); see the note on 2Co 3:7. They could not clearly discern it; there was obscurity arising from the fact of the designed concealment. He did not intend that they should clearly see the full purport and design of the institutions which he established.
To the end - (εἰς τὸ τέλος eis to telos). Unto the end, purpose, design, or ultimate result of the Law which he established. A great many different interpretations have been proposed of this. The meaning seems to me to be this: There was a glory and splendor in that which the institutions of Moses typified, which the children of Israel were not permitted then to behold. There was a splendor and luster in the face of Moses, which they could not gaze upon, and therefore he put a veil over it to diminish its intense brightness. In like manner there was a glory and splendor in the ultimate design and scope of his institutions, in that to which they referred, which they were not then “able,” that is, prepared to look on, and the exceeding brightness of which he of design concealed. This was done by obscure types and figures, that resembled a veil thrown over a dazzling and splendid object.
The word “end,” then, I suppose, does not refer to termination, or close, but to the “design, scope, or purpose” of the Mosaic institutions; to that which they were intended to introduce and adumbrate. that end was the Messiah, and the glory of his institutions; see the note on Rom. 10: “Christ is the end of the Law.” And the meaning of Paul, I take to be, is, that there was a splendor and a glory in the gospel which the Mosaic institutions were designed to typify, which was so great that the children of Israel were not fully prepared to see it, and that he designedly threw over that glory the veil of obscure types and figures; as he threw over his face a veil that partially concealed its splendor. Thus, interpreted there is a consistency in the entire passage, and very great beauty. Paul, in the following verses, proceeds to state that the veil to the view of the Jews of his time was not removed; that they still looked to the obscure types and institutions of the Mosaic Law rather than on the glory which they were designed to adumbrate; as if they should choose to look upon the veil on the face of Moses rather than on the splendor which it concealed.
Of that which is abolished - Or rather to be abolished, τοῦ καταργουμένου to katargoumenou), whose nature, design, and intention it was that it should be abolished. It was never designed to be permanent; and Paul speaks of it here as a thing that was known and indisputable that the Mosaic institutions were designed to be abolished.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv13–14 The apostle here informs the Corinthians that the apostles…
The apostle here informs the Corinthians that the apostles speak with confidence, without any veil, discovering to men mysteries hidden from the foundation of the world; not like Moses, who put a veil on his face that the Israelites might not look steadfastly, or might not discover the weakness and short duration of the law, which was represented by the light that surrounded his face, and which quickly passed away. St. Paul here give the allegorical explanation of the light and veil on the face of Moses. (Estius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv13–16 We use no disguise, "as Moses put a veil…
We use no disguise, "as Moses put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel might not look steadfastly upon the end of that which was to be done away" [ELLICOTT and others]. The view of Exo 34:30-35, according to the Septuagint is adopted by Paul, that Moses in going in to speak to God removed the veil till he came out and had spoken to the people; and then when he had done speaking, he put on the veil that they might not look on the end, or the fading, of that transitory glory. The veil was the symbol of concealment, put on directly after Moses' speaking; so that God's revelations by him were interrupted by intervals of concealment [ALFORD]. But ALFORD'S view does not accord with Co2 3:7; the Israelites "could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance." Plainly Moses' veil was put on because of their not having been able to "look steadfastly at him." Paul here (Co2 3:13) passes from the literal fact to the truth symbolized by it, the blindness of Jews and Judaizers to the ultimate end of the law: stating that Moses put on the veil that they might not look steadfastly at (Christ, Rom 10:4) the end of that (law) which (like Moses' glory) is done away. Not that Moses had this purpose; but often God attributes to His prophets the purpose which He has Himself. Because the Jews would not see, God judicially gave them up so as not to see. The glory of Moses' face is antitypically Christ s glory shining behind the veil of legal ordinances. The veil which has been taken off to the believer is left on to the unbelieving Jew, so that he should not see (Isa 6:10; Act 28:26-27). He stops short at the letter of the law, not seeing the end of it. The evangelical glory of the law, like the shining of Moses' face, cannot be borne by a carnal people, and therefore remains veiled to them until the Spirit comes to take away the veil (Co2 3:14-17) [CAMERON].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv13–16 13. Vail—The emblem of concealment, and the sign of…
13. Vail—The emblem of concealment, and the sign of the mystery of the old in contrast with the transparency and freedom of speech under the new. The new testament was truly concealed in the old one: Christ was vailed under types and shadows; but now he is revealed in person, and declared with great plainness of speech.
Could not… look to the end—By the end many able commentators understand Christ, who is “the end of the law for righteousness.” And this the mystic vail, symbolized by that on Moses’s face, so shades Christ that the Jews could not behold him. And— see next verse—that vail still remains, concealing Christ from the Jews, who recognise not that the old is abolished, and that its end is Christ. But the true view, as Alford, and Stanley, and other late commentators have shown, will appear by a connexion of our translation of Exo_34:33, in accordance with the Septuagint and Vulgate, by a substitution of when for “till.” It will then appear that Moses spoke to the people with his radiant face unvailed, but vailed his face when he ceased speaking, so as to conceal the evanescence and cessation of the radiance. “The vailed prophet of Khorasan,” in Moore’s Lalla Rookh, always kept his face, which was really a hideous visage, concealed from the people under pretence that it was too glorious for mortal sight. Moses showed his face while radiant with the glory, and vailed it as the glory ceased. It was, then, the cessation of the radiance which St. Paul here calls the end of the abolished; and which he figures as an image of the cessation of the glory of the abolished old covenant.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv13–16 13. And not as Moses] i.e. we do not…
13. And not as Moses] i.e. we do not act as Moses did, who put a veil on his face.
that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished] The Greek implies that Moses placed the veil on his face after speaking to the people that they might not see the glory on his face fading. The LXX. of v. 33 implies the same thing, and the Vulgate still more explicitly. The Hebrew is ambiguous, from the want of a pluperfect tense in that language. But the LXX. in v. 34, 35, as well as the Hebrew, imply that Moses veiled his countenance on account of the terror with which its brightness inspired the Israelites. The latter says expressly that he kept his face unveiled until he came forth from speaking to God. So St Paul seems to imply himself in 2Co_3:7. The fact seems to be that St Paul, as is extremely common with him, and as occurs several times in this chapter (as in 2Co_3:3 and 2Co_3:18) gives the simile he is employing another direction. He has been contrasting the glory of the Mosaic with that of the Christian dispensation. He adduces the latter as a reason for the transparent sincerity of which he had boasted in ch. 2Co_2:17. He proceeds to contrast that absence of reserve with the reticence of Moses in the law. The figure of the veil once more occurs to him as an illustration of the fact that the Jews were not, for reasons which are obvious enough, encouraged to look upon the Law as a transitory dispensation (though sometimes hints of this kind were vaguely thrown out, as in the celebrated passage in Deu_18:15; Deu_18:18-19);—not allowed to see the gradual extinction of that glory which had seemed to them so great, and whose greatness was the surest guarantee of their obedience. Many commentators have supposed here an allusion to Christ as the end of the law (Rom_10:4). But Olshausen pertinently asks, “How could St Paul say that Moses covered his countenance in order that the Israelites should not behold Christ?”
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is abolished] Literally, was being brought to nought. See note on 2Co_3:7.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv13–16 (13) And not as Moses, which put a vail…
(13) And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face.—The Apostle, it must be remembered, has in his thoughts either the LXX. version of Exo_34:33, or an interpretation of the Hebrew answering to that version. (See Note on 2Co_3:7.) What was the object of this putting on of the veil? The English version of that text suggests that it was to hide the brightness from which they shrank. But the interpretation which St. Paul follows presents a very different view. Moses put the veil over his face that they might not see the end, the fading away of that transitory glory. For them it was as though it were permanent and unfading. They did not see—this is St. Paul’s way of allegorising the fact stated—that the whole system of the Law, as symbolised by that brightness, had but a fugitive and temporary being.
Could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished.—Better, look on the end of that which was perishing. Literally, the words state the fact, they could not see how the perishing glory ended. In the interpretation of the parable St. Paul seems to say that what was true of those older Israelites was true also of their descendants. They could not see the true end of the perishing system of the Law, its aim, purport, consummation. There is, perhaps, though most recent commentators have refused to recognise it, a half-allusive reference to the thought expressed in Rom_10:4, that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness;” or, in 1Ti_1:5, that “the end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart.” Had their eyes been open, they would have seen in the fading away of the old glory of the decaying “letter” the dawn of a glory that excelled it. And in the thought that this was the true “end” of the Law we find the ground for the Apostle’s assertion that he used great plainness of speech. He had no need to veil his face or his meaning, for he had no fear lest the glory of the gospel of which he was a minister should fade away.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv13–16 And not as Moses. We need not act, as…
And not as Moses. We need not act, as Moses was obliged to do, by putting any veil upon our faces while we speak. And here the image of "the veil" as completely seizes St. Paul"s imagination as the image of the letter does in the first verses. Put a veil; literally, was putting, or, used to put, a veil on his face when he had finished speaking to the people. That the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished; rather, that the children of Israel might not gaze on the end of what was passing away. The object of the veil, according to St. Paul, was to prevent the Israelites from gazing on the last gleam of the covenant. In other words, he did not wish them to be witnesses of a fading glory. It is preposterous to imagine that St. Paul is here casting any blame on the conduct of Moses, as though he acted fraudulently or delusively. Moses was aware, and even told the people, float his legislation was not, (Deu_18:15-19) but it would be quite natural that he should not wish the people to witness the gradual dimming of the lustre which, in St. Paul"s view, was typical of that transitoriness. It seems, however, that St. Paul is here either
(1) following a different reading or rendering of Exo_34:33; or
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(2) is adopting some Jewish hagadah; or
(3) is giving his own turn to the narrative, as the rabbis habitually did, by way of midrash, or exposition. For from the narrative of Exodus we should not gather that it was the object of Moses to hide the disappearance of the splendour, but rather to render the light endurable. In our Authorized Version the verse runs, "till Moses had done speaking with them he put a veil on his face;" but the meaning of the original may be, "after he had done speaking with them," as the LXX takes it and the Vulgate. The end. To interpret this of Christ, because of Rom_10:4, is an instance of the superstitious and unintelligent way in which systems are made out of a mosaic of broken texts. The foolish character of the interpretation is shown when we consider that it involves the inference that Moses put a veil on his face in order to prevent the Israelites from seeing Christi But this attempt to illustrate Scripture by catching at a similar, expression applied in a wholly different way in another part of Scripture, is one of the normal follies of scriptural interpretation.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv13–16 13. And not as Moses, etc. The veil Moses…
13. And not as Moses, etc. The veil Moses put over his face (Exod. 34:33) is used by Paul as a symbol to show that all was not made plain in the law of Moses, and that there is still blindness on the part of Israel. Could not stedfastly look to the end, etc. The brightness with which the face of Moses shone was to be done away. The veil prevented the children of Israel from observing its fading glory. This typifies the fact that they should not see the end of the law itself which was to be abolished.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv13–16 and are not as Moses, who put a veil…
and are not as Moses, who put a veil upon his face, that the children of Israel should not look stedfastly on the end of that which was passing away:
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v14 Omit the word italicized "vail".
vail
Omit the word italicized "vail".
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v14 But their minds were closed
But their minds were closed
"But their minds were hardened." Paul speaks of the minds of the Israelite people as objects that could be closed or made hard. This expression means that they were unable to understand what they saw. AT: "But the Israelites could not understand what they saw" (See: Metaphor)
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For to this day ... But even today
These phrases refer to the time at which Paul was writing to the Corinthians.
when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains
Just as the Israelites could not see the glory on Moses' face because he covered his face with a veil, there is a spiritual veil that prevents people from understanding when they read the old covenant. (See: Metaphor)
when they read the old covenant
"when they hear someone read the old covenant"
It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away
Here both occurrences of the word "it" refer to "the same veil." This can be stated in active form. AT: "No one removes the veil, because only in Christ does God remove it" (See: Active or Passive)
whenever Moses is read
Here the word "Moses" refers to the Old Testament law. This can be stated in active form. AT: "whenever someone reads the Mosaic law" (See: Metonymy and Active or Passive)
a veil covers their hearts
Here the word "hearts" represents what people think, and the people being unable to understand the old covenant is spoken of as if they have a veil that covers their hearts the way a physical veil would cover their eyes. AT: "they are unable to understand what they are hearing" (See: Metonymy and Metaphor)
when a person turns to the Lord
Here "turns to" is a metaphor that means to become loyal to someone. AT: "when a person starts to worship the Lord" or "when a person starts to trust in the Lord" (See: Metaphor)
the veil is taken away
God gives them the ability to understand. This can be stated in active form. AT: "God lifts the veil away" or "God gives them the ability to understand" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
mind
veil
covenant
Christ
Moses
heart
turn
lord
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v16 3:16-18 The believer who turns to the Lord has…
3:16-18 The believer who turns to the Lord has freedom in the Spirit. We receive something Moses never knew as we become more and more like Christ (4:4; John 1:1-14; Col 1:15; Heb 1:1-4) and reflect the glory of the Lord. Divine glory in this present life leads to our being like Christ in the next life (Rom 8:29; Gal 4:19; Phil 3:21; 1 Jn 3:2).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.