2 Corinthians 8
New King James Version
Excel in Giving
8 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: 2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and (A)their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. 3 For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, 4 imploring us with much urgency [a]that we would receive the gift and (B)the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first (C)gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the (D)will of God. 6 So (E)we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. 7 But as (F)you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see (G)that you abound in this grace also.
Christ Our Pattern
8 (H)I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, (I)that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become (J)rich.
10 And in this (K)I give advice: (L)It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and (M)were desiring to do a year ago; 11 but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. 12 For (N)if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.
13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. 15 As it is written, (O)“He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”
Collection for the Judean Saints
16 But thanks be to God who [b]puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord. 18 And we have sent with him (P)the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, 19 and not only that, but who was also (Q)chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us (R)to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind, 20 avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us— 21 (S)providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
22 And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, because of the great confidence which we have in you. 23 If anyone inquires about (T)Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are (U)messengers[c] of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 Therefore show to them, [d]and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our (V)boasting on your behalf.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 8:4 NU, M omit that we would receive, thus changing text to urgency for the favor and fellowship
- 2 Corinthians 8:16 NU has put
- 2 Corinthians 8:23 Lit. apostles, “sent ones”
- 2 Corinthians 8:24 NU, M omit and
2 Corinthians 8
English Standard Version
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. 10 And in this matter (M)I give my judgment: (N)this benefits you, who (O)a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. 11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. 12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable (P)according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply (Q)their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written, (R)“Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”
Commendation of Titus
16 But (S)thanks be to God, (T)who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. 17 For (U)he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going[d] to you of his own accord. 18 With him we are sending[e] (V)the brother who is famous among (W)all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. 19 And not only that, but he has been (X)appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of (Y)grace that is being ministered by us, (Z)for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. 20 We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, 21 for (AA)we aim at what is honorable (AB)not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man. 22 And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is (AC)my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers[f] of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 So give proof before the churches of your love and of (AD)our boasting about you to these men.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 8:1 Or brothers and sisters
- 2 Corinthians 8:4 The Greek word charis can mean favor or grace or thanks, depending on the context
- 2 Corinthians 8:7 Some manuscripts in your love for us
- 2 Corinthians 8:17 Or he went
- 2 Corinthians 8:18 Or we sent; also verse 22
- 2 Corinthians 8:23 Greek apostles
2 Corinthians 8
International Standard Version
The Collection for the Christians in Jerusalem
8 We want you to know, brothers, about God’s grace that was given to the churches of Macedonia. 2 In spite of their terrible ordeal of suffering, their abundant joy and deep poverty have led them to be abundantly generous. 3 I can testify that by their own free will they have given to the utmost of their ability, yes, even beyond their ability. 4 They begged us earnestly for the privilege[a] of participating in this ministry to the saints. 5 We did not expect that! They gave themselves to the Lord first and then to us, since this was God’s will. 6 So we urged Titus to finish this work of kindness[b] among you in the same way that he had started it. 7 Indeed, the more your faith, speech, knowledge, enthusiasm, and love for us increase, the more we want you to be rich in this work of kindness.[c]
8 I am not commanding you but testing the genuineness of your love by the enthusiasm of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.[d] Although he was rich, for your sakes he became poor, so that you, through his poverty, might become rich.
10 I am giving you my opinion on this matter because it will be helpful to you. Last year you were not only willing to do something, but had already started to do it. 11 Now finish what you began, so that your eagerness to do so may be matched by your eagerness[e] to complete it. 12 For if the eagerness is there, the gift[f] is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you do not have.
13 Not that others should have relief while you have hardship. Rather, it is a question of fairness. 14 At the present time, your surplus fills their need, so that their surplus may fill your need. In this way things are fair. 15 As it is written,
“The person who had much did not have too much,
and the person who had little did not have too little.”[g]
Titus and His Companions
16 But thanks be to God, who placed in the heart of Titus the same dedication to you that I have. 17 He welcomed my request and eagerly went to visit you by his own free will. 18 With him we have sent the brother who is praised in all the churches for spreading the gospel.[h] 19 More than that, he has also been selected by the churches to travel with us while we are administering this work of kindness[i] for the glory of the Lord and as evidence of our eagerness to help.[j] 20 We are trying to avoid any criticism of the way we are administering this great undertaking. 21 We intend to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of people.
22 We have also sent with them our brother whom we have often tested in many ways and found to be dedicated. At present he is more dedicated than ever because he has so much confidence in you.
23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker on your behalf. Our brothers, emissaries[k] from the churches, are bringing glory to the Messiah.[l] 24 Therefore, demonstrate to the churches that you love them and show them publicly why we boast about you.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 8:4 Or for the grace
- 2 Corinthians 8:6 Or this grace
- 2 Corinthians 8:7 Or this grace
- 2 Corinthians 8:9 Or Christ
- 2 Corinthians 8:11 Lit. matched as you contribute from what you have
- 2 Corinthians 8:12 Lit. it
- 2 Corinthians 8:15 Exod 16:18
- 2 Corinthians 8:18 Lit. in the gospel
- 2 Corinthians 8:19 Or this grace
- 2 Corinthians 8:19 The Gk. lacks to help
- 2 Corinthians 8:23 Or apostles
- 2 Corinthians 8:23 Or Christ
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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