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2 Corinthians 3:15

in 2 Corinthians 3

And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil lieth upon their heart.

KJV

But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

This verse in 2 Corinthians 3

Commentary

15 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Parenthetical: Of Christians in general. He resumes the subject of the ministry, 2Co 4:1. minds--Greek, "mental perceptions"; "understandings." blinded--rather, "hardened." The opposite to "looking steadfastly at the end" of the law (2Co 3:13).

This site's exposition

their minds were closed

on 2 Corinthians 3:14-16

When Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts: the veil moves from Moses' face to the readers. Romans 11:25 defines the blindness as partial and temporary, and whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

This site's exposition

a veil covers their hearts

The veil has moved from Moses's face to the hearers' hearts. John Chrysostom notes that Paul places the fault with the hearers, so the law keeps its own glory.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers5 voices

A commentator

Origen of Alexandria

ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 1.1.2 · Written before 253.

proposed

The apostle also says, "Even until this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their hearts; but when a man shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." For so long as a man does not attend to the spiritual meaning "a veil lies upon his heart," in consequence of which veil, in other words his duller understanding, the Scripture itself is said or thought to be veiled. This is the explanation of the veil which is said to have covered the face of Moses when he was speaking to the people, that is, when the law is read in public. But if we turn to the Lord, where also the Word of God is and where the Holy Spirit reveals spiritual knowledge, the veil will be taken away, and we shall then with unveiled face behold in the holy Scriptures the glory of the Lord.

A commentator

Origen of Alexandria

ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 1.1.3 · Written before 253.

proposed

Further, if any one ponders over the prophetic sayings with all the attention and reverence they deserve, it is certain that in the very act of reading and diligently studying them his mind and feelings will be touched by a divine breath. He will recognize that the words he is reading are not human utterances but the language of God; and so he will perceive from his own experience that these books have been composed not by human art or mortal eloquence but, if I may so speak, in a style that is divine. The splendor of Christ's advent has, therefore, by illuminating the law of Moses with the brightness of the truth, withdrawn the veil which had covered the letter of the law and has disclosed, for everyone who believes in him, all those "good things" which lay concealed within.

A commentator

Tertullian

Against Marcion Book V · Written before 220.

proposed

Of Israel he says, Even unto this day the same veil is upon their heart; " showing that the veil which was on the face of Moses was a figure of the veil which is on the heart of the nation still; because even now Moses is not seen by them in heart, just as he was not then seen by them in eye.

A commentator

Cyril of Alexandria

LETTER 41 · Written before 444.

proposed

Yet the shadows bring forth the truth, even if they are not at all the truth themselves. Because of this, the divinely inspired Moses placed a veil upon his face and spoke thus to the children of Israel, all but shouting by this act that a person might behold the beauty of the utterances made through him, not in outwardly appearing figures but in meditations hidden within us. Come, therefore, by taking off the veil of the law and by setting the face of Moses free of its coverings, let us behold the naked truth.

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily 7 on 2 Corinthians · Written before 407.

proposed

For since he said that in the reading of the Old Testament the veil remaineth, lest any should think that this that is said is from the obscurity of the Law, he both by other things showed even before what his meaning was, (for by saying, "their minds were hardened," he shows that the fault was their own,) and, in this place too, again. For he said not, 'The veil remaineth on the writing,' but "in the reading;" (now the reading is the act of those that read;) and again, "When Moses is read." He showed this however with greater clearness in the expression which follows next, saying unreservedly, "The veil lieth upon their heart." For even upon the face of Moses it lay, not because of Moses, but because of the grossness and carnal mind of these.
7 more voices on this verse

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

HOMILY 66 ON PSALM 88 (89) · Written before 420.

proposed

The curtain of the temple is torn, for that which had been veiled in Judea is unveiled to all the nations; the curtain is torn and the mysteries of the law are revealed to the faithful, but to unbelievers they are hidden to this very day. When Moses, the Old Testament, is read aloud by the Jews on every Sabbath, according to the testimony of the apostle: "the veil covers their hearts." They read the law, true enough, but they do not understand because their eyes have grown so dim that they cannot see.

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on 2 Corinthians · Written before 1274.

proposed

Then when he says, Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds, he shows how even among the Jews the veil remains, as to unbelievers, although it has been removed by Christ. In regard to this it should be …

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on 2 Corinthians · Written before 1107.

proposed

Since he said above that a veil lies upon the reading of the Old Testament, lest anyone think that by the veil he means the obscurity of the law, he says: no, I call the veil the blindness and dullness of heart of the Jews. …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Thus it was formerly, and so it was especially as to those who remained in Judaism after the coming of the Messiah and the publication of his gospel. Nevertheless, the apostle tells us, there is a time coming when this veil also shall be taken away, and when it (the body of that people) shall turn to the Lord,
But even unto this day, when Moses is read,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

the veil is--rather, "a veil lieth upon their heart" (their understanding, affected by the corrupt will, Joh 8:43; The Tallith was worn in the synagogue by every worshipper, and to this veil hanging over the breast there may be an indirect allusion here (see on 1Co 11:4): the apostle making it symbolize the spiritual veil on their heart.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens

But even unto this day - To the time when Paul wrote this Epistle, about 30 years after Christ was put to death. But it is still as true as it was in the time of Paul; and the character and conduct of the Jews now so entirely accords with the description which he gives of them in his time, as to show that he drew from nature, and as to constitute one of the strong incidental proofs that the account in the New Testament is true.

The words behind it

13 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Corinthians

The Apostle Paul in Prison, Rembrandt, 1627. Public domain.
The Apostle Paul in Prison, Rembrandt, 1627. Public domain.
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians; Cyril of Alexandria, LETTER 41; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, HOMILY 66 ON PSALM 88 (89); John Chrysostom, Homily 7 on 2 Corinthians; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 1.1.2; Origen of Alexandria, ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 1.1.3; Robert Haldane, Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans; Tertullian, Against Marcion Book V; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 Corinthians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 2 Corinthians.