“But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:”
King James Version (KJV)
3:7 And if the ministration of death - That is, the Mosaic dispensation, which proves such to those who prefer it to the gospel, the most considerable part of which was engraven on those two stones, was attended with so great glory.
2Co 3:7 But if the ministration of death. The Old Covenant, the law is so called, because it places under the sentence of death. Written [and] engraven on stones. Only the Decalogue was written on stones. It was the central and most important part of the Old Covenant. Let it be noted that when Paul speaks of the law, or Old Testament, he includes the Decalogue, and does not mean simply the ceremonial law, as some have urged (Ex 34:1). Was glorious. So glorious that even the face of Moses was made to shine as he carried down the tables of the law so that he had to veil his face (Ex 34:29). Which [glory] was to be done away. It was only temporary.