2 Corinthians 8:11-13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
11 complete it now, so that your eager[a] willingness may be matched by your completion of it out of what you have. 12 [b]For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have; 13 not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality
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- 8:11 Eager: the word prothymia also occurs in 2 Cor 8:12, 19; 9:2.
- 8:12–15 Paul introduces the principle of equality into the discussion. The goal is not impoverishment but sharing of resources; balance is achieved at least over the course of time. In 2 Cor 8:15 Paul grounds his argument unexpectedly in the experience of Israel gathering manna in the desert: equality was achieved, independently of personal exertion, by God, who gave with an even hand according to need. Paul touches briefly here on the theme of “living from God.”
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