2 Corinthians 3:6 → Jeremiah 31:31

Jeremiah promised, "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:31), unlike the covenant "they broke" (31:32), for God would "inscribe it on their hearts" (31:33). Paul names that promise as his commission: God "has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:6). New covenant (καινὴ διαθήκη, G2537 + G1242; Hebrew bərît ḥădāšâ, H1285 + H2319) is shared, so the tie is strong. Just before, Paul wrote of a letter "not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (3:3), joining Jeremiah's heart-writing to Ezekiel's "heart of flesh" for a "heart of stone" (Ezekiel 36:26), while "I will put My Spirit in you and you will live" (Ezekiel 37:14) stands behind "the Spirit gives life." The old ministry came with glory (3:7), but letters cut in stone could only condemn unchanged hearts. The new ministry reaches Christ: the veil is removed "only in Christ" (3:14), and those who turn to Him "with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord" and "are being transformed into His image" (3:18).