The Widow of Zarephath

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, ⁹ “Arise, go to ^(A)Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” ¹⁰ So he arose and went to ^(B)Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there ^(C)gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” ¹¹ And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” ¹² And she said, ^(D)“As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” ¹³ And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” ¹⁵ And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

Encouragement to Give Generously

8 We want you to know, brothers,^[a] about the grace of God that has been ^(A)given among the churches of Macedonia, ² for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and ^(B)their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³ For they gave ^(C)according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, ⁴ begging us earnestly ^(D)for the favor^[b] of taking part in ^(E)the relief of the saints— ⁵ and this, not as we expected, but they ^(F)gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. ⁶ Accordingly, ^(G)we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you ^(H)this act of grace. ⁷ But as ^(I)you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you^[c]—^(J)see that you excel in this act of grace also.

^8 (K)I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ^(L)though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Beware of the Scribes

^38 (A)And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces ³⁹ and have the best seats in the synagogues and ^(B)the places of honor at feasts, ^40 (C)who devour widows' houses and ^(D)for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Widow's Offering

^41 (E)And he sat down opposite ^(F)the treasury and watched the people ^(G)putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two ^(H)small copper coins, which make a penny.^{[a] 43} And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^(I)this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. ⁴⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her ^(J)poverty has put in everything she had, all ^(K)she had to live on.”