The Collection for the Lord’s People

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian(A) churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.(B) For I testify that they gave as much as they were able,(C) and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing(D) in this service(E) to the Lord’s people.(F) And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. So we urged(G) Titus,(H) just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion(I) this act of grace on your part. But since you excel in everything(J)—in faith, in speech, in knowledge,(K) in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

I am not commanding you,(L) but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace(M) of our Lord Jesus Christ,(N) that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,(O) so that you through his poverty might become rich.(P)

10 And here is my judgment(Q) about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.(R) 11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness(S) to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has,(T) not according to what one does not have.

13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need,(U) so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”[b](V)

Titus Sent to Receive the Collection

16 Thanks be to God,(W) who put into the heart(X) of Titus(Y) the same concern I have for you. 17 For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.(Z) 18 And we are sending along with him the brother(AA) who is praised by all the churches(AB) for his service to the gospel.(AC) 19 What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us(AD) as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help.(AE) 20 We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.(AF)

22 In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus,(AG) he is my partner(AH) and co-worker(AI) among you; as for our brothers,(AJ) they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. 24 Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you,(AK) so that the churches can see it.

There is no need(AL) for me to write to you about this service(AM) to the Lord’s people.(AN) For I know your eagerness to help,(AO) and I have been boasting(AP) about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year(AQ) you in Achaia(AR) were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. But I am sending the brothers(AS) in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be.(AT) For if any Macedonians(AU) come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers(AV) to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift,(AW) not as one grudgingly given.(AX)

Generosity Encouraged

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.(AY) Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give,(AZ) not reluctantly or under compulsion,(BA) for God loves a cheerful giver.(BB) And God is able(BC) to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need,(BD) you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts(BE) to the poor;
    their righteousness endures forever.”[c](BF)

10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food(BG) will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.(BH) 11 You will be enriched(BI) in every way so that you can be generous(BJ) on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.(BK)

12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs(BL) of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.(BM) 13 Because of the service(BN) by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God(BO) for the obedience that accompanies your confession(BP) of the gospel of Christ,(BQ) and for your generosity(BR) in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God(BS) for his indescribable gift!(BT)

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 8:7 Some manuscripts and in your love for us
  2. 2 Corinthians 8:15 Exodus 16:18
  3. 2 Corinthians 9:9 Psalm 112:9

Excel in Giving

Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and (A)their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency [a]that we would receive the gift and (B)the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 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. So (E)we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. 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

(H)I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 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.

Administering the Gift

Now concerning (W)the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you; for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a (X)year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority. (Y)Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready; lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this [e]confident boasting. Therefore I thought it necessary to [f]exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a [g]grudging obligation.

The Cheerful Giver

(Z)But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows [h]bountifully will also reap [i]bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, (AA)not grudgingly or of [j]necessity; for (AB)God loves a cheerful giver. (AC)And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written:

(AD)“He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever.”

10 Now [k]may He who (AE)supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, [l]supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your (AF)righteousness, 11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, (AG)which causes thanksgiving through us to God. 12 For the administration of this service not only (AH)supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, 13 while, through the proof of this ministry, they (AI)glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal (AJ)sharing with them and all men, 14 and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding (AK)grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God (AL)for His indescribable gift!

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 8:4 NU, M omit that we would receive, thus changing text to urgency for the favor and fellowship
  2. 2 Corinthians 8:16 NU has put
  3. 2 Corinthians 8:23 Lit. apostles, “sent ones”
  4. 2 Corinthians 8:24 NU, M omit and
  5. 2 Corinthians 9:4 NU confidence.
  6. 2 Corinthians 9:5 encourage
  7. 2 Corinthians 9:5 Lit. covetousness
  8. 2 Corinthians 9:6 with blessings
  9. 2 Corinthians 9:6 with blessings
  10. 2 Corinthians 9:7 compulsion
  11. 2 Corinthians 9:10 NU omits may
  12. 2 Corinthians 9:10 NU will supply

A Call to Generous Giving

Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters,[a] what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.

For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.[b] They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us[c]—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.

I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.

You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

10 Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. 11 Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. 12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. 13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. 14 Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. 15 As the Scriptures say,

“Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over,
    and those who gathered only a little had enough.”[d]

Titus and His Companions

16 But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have. 17 Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you. 18 We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News. 19 He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem[e]—a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help.

20 We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. 21 We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.

22 We are also sending with them another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now even more enthusiastic because of his great confidence in you. 23 If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And the brothers with him have been sent by the churches,[f] and they bring honor to Christ. 24 So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified.

The Collection for Christians in Jerusalem

I really don’t need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in Jerusalem.[g] For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece[h] were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving.

But I am sending these brothers to be sure you really are ready, as I have been telling them, and that your money is all collected. I don’t want to be wrong in my boasting about you. We would be embarrassed—not to mention your own embarrassment—if some Macedonian believers came with me and found that you weren’t ready after all I had told them! So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly.

Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”[i] And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say,

“They share freely and give generously to the poor.
    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”[j]

10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity[k] in you.

11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. 12 So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem[l] will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.

13 As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. 14 And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. 15 Thank God for this gift[m] too wonderful for words!

Footnotes

  1. 8:1 Greek brothers.
  2. 8:4 Greek for God’s holy people.
  3. 8:7 Some manuscripts read your love for us.
  4. 8:15 Exod 16:18.
  5. 8:19 See 1 Cor 16:3-4.
  6. 8:23 Greek are apostles of the churches.
  7. 9:1 Greek about the offering for God’s holy people.
  8. 9:2 Greek in Achaia, the southern region of the Greek peninsula. Macedonia was in the northern region of Greece.
  9. 9:7 See footnote on Prov 22:8.
  10. 9:9 Ps 112:9.
  11. 9:10 Greek righteousness.
  12. 9:12 Greek of God’s holy people.
  13. 9:15 Greek his gift.

Christian Giving

(A)Our friends, we want you to know what God's grace has accomplished in the churches in Macedonia. They have been severely tested by the troubles they went through; but their joy was so great that they were extremely generous in their giving, even though they are very poor. I can assure you that they gave as much as they could, and even more than they could. Of their own free will they begged us and pleaded for the privilege of having a part in helping God's people in Judea. It was more than we could have hoped for! First they gave themselves to the Lord; and then, by God's will they gave themselves to us as well. So we urged Titus, who began this work, to continue it and help you complete this special service of love. You are so rich in all you have: in faith, speech, and knowledge, in your eagerness to help and in your love for us.[a] And so we want you to be generous also in this service of love.

I am not laying down any rules. But by showing how eager others are to help, I am trying to find out how real your own love is. You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; rich as he was, he made himself poor for your sake, in order to make you rich by means of his poverty.

10 My opinion is that it is better for you to finish now what you began last year. You were the first, not only to act, but also to be willing to act. 11 On with it, then, and finish the job! Be as eager to finish it as you were to plan it, and do it with what you now have. 12 If you are eager to give, God will accept your gift on the basis of what you have to give, not on what you don't have.

13-14 I am not trying to relieve others by putting a burden on you; but since you have plenty at this time, it is only fair that you should help those who are in need. Then, when you are in need and they have plenty, they will help you. In this way both are treated equally. 15 (B)As the scripture says, “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

Titus and His Companions

16 How we thank God for making Titus as eager as we are to help you! 17 Not only did he welcome our request; he was so eager to help that of his own free will he decided to go to you. 18 With him we are sending the brother who is highly respected in all the churches for his work in preaching the gospel. 19 And besides that, he has been chosen and appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this service of love for the sake of the Lord's glory and in order to show that we want to help.

20 We are being careful not to stir up any complaints about the way we handle this generous gift. 21 (C)Our purpose is to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of others.

22 So we are sending our brother with them; we have tested him many times and found him always very eager to help. And now that he has so much confidence in you, he is all the more eager to help. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and works with me to help you; as for the other brothers who are going with him, they represent the churches and bring glory to Christ. 24 Show your love to them, so that all the churches will be sure of it and know that we are right in boasting about you.

Help for Needy Believers

There is really no need for me to write you about the help being sent to God's people in Judea. I know that you are willing to help, and I have boasted of you to the people in Macedonia. “The believers in Achaia,” I said, “have been ready to help since last year.” Your eagerness has stirred up most of them. Now I am sending these believers, so that our boasting about you in this matter may not turn out to be empty words. But, just as I said, you will be ready with your help. However, if the people from Macedonia should come with me and find out that you are not ready, how ashamed we would be—not to speak of your shame—for feeling so sure of you! So I thought it was necessary to urge these believers to go to you ahead of me and get ready in advance the gift you promised to make. Then it will be ready when I arrive, and it will show that you give because you want to, not because you have to.

Remember that the person who plants few seeds will have a small crop; the one who plants many seeds will have a large crop. (D)You should each give, then, as you have decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty; for God loves the one who gives gladly. And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause. (E)As the scripture says,

“He gives generously to the needy;
    his kindness lasts forever.”

10 (F)And God, who supplies seed for the sower and bread to eat, will also supply you with all the seed you need and will make it grow and produce a rich harvest from your generosity. 11 He will always make you rich enough to be generous at all times, so that many will thank God for your gifts which they receive from us. 12 For this service you perform not only meets the needs of God's people, but also produces an outpouring of gratitude to God. 13 And because of the proof which this service of yours brings, many will give glory to God for your loyalty to the gospel of Christ, which you profess, and for your generosity in sharing with them and everyone else. 14 And so with deep affection they will pray for you because of the extraordinary grace God has shown you. 15 Let us thank God for his priceless gift!

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 8:7 your love for us; some manuscripts have our love for you.

Encouragement to Be Generous

We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia, for during a severe ordeal of affliction their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the favor[a] of partnering in this ministry to the saints,(A) and not as we expected. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, so that we might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking[b] among you.(B) Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you[c]—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.[d](C)

I do not say this as a command, but I am, by mentioning the eagerness of others, testing the genuineness of your love.(D) For you know the generous act[e] of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.(E) 10 And in this matter I am giving my opinion: it is beneficial for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something.(F) 11 Now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.(G) 12 For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.(H) 13 For I do not mean that there should be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality between 14 your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may also supply your need, in order that there may be equality. 15 As it is written,

“The one who had much did not have too much,
    and the one who had little did not have too little.”(I)

Commendation of Titus

16 But thanks be to God, who put in the heart of Titus the same eagerness for you that I myself have. 17 For he not only accepted our appeal, but since he is more eager than ever, he is going to you of his own accord. 18 With him we are sending the brother who is praised among all the churches for his work for the gospel,(J) 19 and not only that, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us while we are administering this generous undertaking[f] for the glory of the Lord himself[g] and to show our goodwill.(K) 20 We are making this arrangement lest anyone blame us about this generous gift that we are administering, 21 for we are setting our minds on what is right not only before the Lord but also before the people.(L) 22 And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found eager in many matters but who is now more eager than ever because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and coworker in your service; as for our brothers, they are messengers[h] of the churches, the glory of Christ.(M) 24 Therefore openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you to them.(N)

The Collection for Christians at Jerusalem

Now it is not necessary for me to write you about the ministry to the saints, for I know your eagerness, which is the subject of my boasting about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.(O) But I am sending[i] the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not prove to have been empty in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be;(P) otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be put to shame—to say nothing of you—in this undertaking.[j] So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for this bountiful gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready as a bountiful gift and not as an extortion.

The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.(Q) Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not regretfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.(R) And God is able to provide you with every blessing[k] in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.(S) As it is written,

“He scatters abroad; he gives to the poor;
    his righteousness[l] endures forever.”(T)

10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.[m] 11 You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us, 12 for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. 13 Through the testing of this ministry you[n] glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your partnership with them and with all others,(U) 14 while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!(V)

Footnotes

  1. 8.4 Gk grace or gift
  2. 8.6 Gk this grace or gift
  3. 8.7 Other ancient authorities read your love for us
  4. 8.7 Gk this grace or gift
  5. 8.9 Gk the grace or gift
  6. 8.19 Gk this grace or gift
  7. 8.19 Other ancient authorities lack himself
  8. 8.23 Gk apostles
  9. 9.3 Or I have sent
  10. 9.4 Other ancient authorities add of boasting
  11. 9.8 Gk gift or grace
  12. 9.9 Or benevolence
  13. 9.10 Or benevolence
  14. 9.13 Or they