Logos Bible Study

2 Corinthians 3:2–3

The NET BibleOther versions

English

Arabic

Czech

French

German

Greek

Hungarian

Italian

Korean

Latin

Portuguese

Russian

Simplified Chinese

Spanish

Traditional Chinese

3:2You yourselves are our letter,2 written on our hearts, known and read by everyone, 3:3revealing3 that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us,4 written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets5 but on tablets of human hearts.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

  1. 2 That is, “letter of recommendation.”
  2. 3 Or “making plain.”
  3. 4 Grk “cared for by us,” an expression that could refer either to the writing or the delivery of the letter ( διακονέω 1). Since the following phrase refers to the writing of the letter, and since the previous verse speaks of this “letter” being “written on our [Paul’s and his companions’] hearts” it is more probable that the phrase “cared for by us” refers to the delivery of the letter (in the person of Paul and his companions).
  4. 5 An allusion to Exod 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deut 9:10–11.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 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.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are Christ’s letter, delivered by us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God—not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

NLTNew Living Translation

The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

You are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by all people, revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts.

KJV 1900King James Version

Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.