Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Corinthians 3:14

"but their minds were hardened: for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remaineth, it not being revealed [to them] that it is done away in Christ." — 2 Corinthians 3:14 (ASV)

But their minds were blinded.—The Greek verb strictly expresses the callousness of a nerve that has become insensible, as in Mark 6:52; Mark 8:17; Romans 11:7. Here, as applied to the faculties of perception, “blinded” is perhaps a legitimate rendering.

Remains the same vail untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament...—The words are better translated: the same veil remains in the reading of the old covenant; the fact not being revealed (that is, by the removal of the veil) that it (the old covenant) is being done away in Christ. The figure is passing through a kind of dissolving change.

There is still a veil between the hearers of the Law and its true meaning, but the veil is no longer on the face of the lawgiver but on their hearts. The reason for this is that, because the veil is not withdrawn, they do not see that the glory of the older covenant is done away by the brightness of the new.

It is doing violence to the context to apply the words is done away to the veil, since this phrase throughout the whole passage is applied to the Law itself. Furthermore, in 2 Corinthians 3:16, a new and appropriate word is used for the withdrawal of the veil.

The Apostle says it is because the veil of prejudice and tradition hinders them from seeing the truth that the Jews of his own time still think of the Law as permanent, instead of viewing it as passing through a process of extinction.

The term “Old Testament” is clearly used here, not in the modern sense for the whole volume of the Law, Prophets, and Psalms, but especially for the law that was the basis of the covenant.

Another, though less adequate, rendering would be, the veil remains... unwithdrawn, for it (the veil) is abolished in Christ. If there were any authority for giving an active meaning to the middle form of the verb, we might translate with a perfectly satisfactory meaning: the same veil remains... not revealing the fact that it is being done away in Christ. Unfortunately, however, there is no such authority. The English rendering, which veil is done away, fails, in any case, to give the true force of the Greek.