This verse is difficult to translate. The text of the ancient Greek translation, the Septuagint, of Exo 34.34 says “And whenever Moses used to go before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he went out.” Is Paul alluding to the Septuagint text of Exo 34.34, or is he quoting it? Good News Translation takes the position that Paul is quoting, and adds “as the scripture says about Moses” (so also Translator’s New Testament and Revised English Bible).

However, the text of this verse is not a literal quotation of Exo 34.34, and the subject of the verb turns is not explicit in what Paul wrote. (In the Septuagint Moses is the subject, but the verb is “used to go in [before the Lord]”). As Revised Standard Version and the reading in the footnote of TEV indicate, the subject of the verb may be “anyone.” This interpretation is followed by a wide variety of versions, including New International Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New Revised Standard Version, and Contemporary English Version. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible has the interesting rendering “It is only by conversion to the Lord that the veil falls away.”

The Lord may be the Lord Jesus or the Lord God. Since the passage in Exo 34.34 refers to the Lord God, most likely that is the intended meaning here.

The veil is removed: in the Septuagint Moses removed the veil. Here the verb may be interpreted as stressing the agent, with “the Lord” as the subject (so Barrett, “he takes away the veil”). Or the verb may be passive as in Revised Standard Version. The implied agent of the passive verb is “the Lord.” In any case, if the passive idea is accepted, it will have to be rendered actively in many languages. Translators may consider saying “the Lord removes the veil,” or more dynamically and without explicitly stating the agent, “the veil disappears.” And some languages may require a reminder that this is the figurative veil “over their minds [or, hearts]” mentioned in verses 14-15, and not the literal one over Moses’ face (verse 13).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellingworth, Paul. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .