¹⁰ They bestowed many honors on us, and when we were about to sail, they put on board all the provisions we needed.

⁶ nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others,^(A)

¹⁹ And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.^(A)

¹¹ Not that I am referring to being in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever I have.^{(A) 12} I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.^(B)

³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God^[a] and his^[b] righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.^(A)

³⁴ “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

¹⁷ Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor,^[a] especially those who labor in preaching and teaching,^{(A) 18} for the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain” and “The laborer deserves to be paid.”^(B)

³ Honor widows who are really widows. ⁴ If a widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn their religious duty to their own family and make some repayment to their parents, for this is pleasing in God’s sight.^(A)

⁵ 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.

⁶ The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.^{(A) 7} Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not regretfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.^{(B) 8} And God is able to provide you with every blessing^[a] in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.^{(C) 9} As it is written,

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.^{[c] 11} You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us,

² for during a severe ordeal of affliction their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³ For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means, ⁴ begging us earnestly for the favor^[a] of partnering in this ministry to the saints,^{(A) 5} and not as we expected. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, ⁶ 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)