Generosity in Giving

Now we make known to you, brothers, the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, that with a great ordeal of affliction, the abundance of their joy and the extreme depth of their poverty have overflowed to the wealth of their generosity. I testify that they gave[a] according to their ability, and beyond their ability, by their own choice, requesting of us with much exhortation the favor and the fellowship of the ministry to the saints, and not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, by the will of God.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 8:3 The words “they gave” are not in the Greek text, but are implied

We want you hymeis to know gnōrizō, · de brothers adelphos, about the ho grace charis of ho God theos · ho shown didōmi among en the ho churches ekklēsia of ho Macedonia Makedonia, how that hoti in en a severe polys test dokimē of affliction thlipsis, the ho fullness perisseia of ho their autos joy chara and kai · ho their autos extreme kata bathos poverty ptōcheia have overflowed perisseuō in eis the ho richness ploutos of ho their autos generosity haplotēs. For hoti—as I can testify martyreō—they gave according to kata their means dynamis, and kai even beyond para their means dynamis; acting spontaneously authairetos, begging deomai us hēmeis with meta great polys insistence paraklēsis for the ho privilege charis of · kai · ho joining koinōnia in this ho ministry diakonia · ho to eis the ho saints hagios. And kai they did this, not ou simply as kathōs we had hoped elpizō, but alla first prōton they gave didōmi themselves heautou to the ho Lord kyrios and kai then to us hēmeis, by dia the will thelēma of God theos.

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