Bible Strands
2 Corinthians 3:16
But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian church, contrasting the old covenant ministry of Moses with the new covenant ministry of the Spirit. He speaks this immediately after noting that a veil covers the hearts of those who read the Mosaic scroll.
The words — ἐπιστρέψῃ (epistrepsē) means "shall have turned," and περιαιρεῖται (periaireitai) means "is taken away." These verbs describe a decisive turning to the Lord that results in the immediate removal of a covering.
The thread — The motif of a removed covering appears in Exodus 34:34, where Moses removes it when approaching God, and in Isaiah 25:7, where God destroys the shroud over all nations. Isaiah 29:18 parallels this theme of revelation by describing the deaf hearing and the blind seeing.
Why it lands — The text states that turning to the Lord results in the veil being removed, contrasting with the persistent covering over those who read Moses. It requires a reader to recognize that spiritual clarity depends on direct orientation toward God rather than reliance on a written code.
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
Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
Cross-references
- Exodus 34:34 But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. And when he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded,
- Isaiah 25:7 On this mountain He will swallow up the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;
- Isaiah 29:18 On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
- John 6:45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—
- Jeremiah 31:34 No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
- Romans 11:23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
- Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
- Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 4:30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.
- Deuteronomy 30:10 if you obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to Him with all your heart and with all your soul.