Bible Strands
2 Corinthians 3:10
Indeed, what was once glorious has no glory now in comparison to the glory that surpasses it.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Corinthian church while defending his apostolic authority, directly following his comparison of the fading ministry of condemnation with the permanent ministry of righteousness.
The words — δεδοξασμένον (dedoxasmenon) = glorified and οὐ (ou) = not, which structurally bind the statement that the former covenant's visible honor is now nullified when measured against the superior reality.
The thread — The motif of comparative divine glory runs through Haggai 2:7 where God promises to fill the temple with glory, 2 Peter 1:17 where Christ receives honor and glory from the Father, and Job 25:5 where celestial light fails to shine in God's sight.
Why it lands — The passage requires a reader to abandon reliance on the old covenant's visible signs and accept the new covenant's superior permanence as the sole standard for evaluating spiritual authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
Cross-references
- 2 Peter 1:17 For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
- Haggai 2:7 I will shake all the nations, and they will come with all their treasures, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Job 25:5 If even the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure in His sight,
- Isaiah 24:23 The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.
- Haggai 2:3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not appear to you like nothing in comparison?’
- Acts 26:13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.
- Philippians 3:7 But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
- Revelation 22:5 There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.
- Revelation 21:23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.