In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.

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Sow your seed in the morning,
    and at evening let your hands not be idle,(A)
for you do not know which will succeed,
    whether this or that,
    or whether both will do equally well.

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10 Now [a]may He who (A)supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, [b]supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your (B)righteousness, 11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, (C)which causes thanksgiving through us to God.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 9:10 NU omits may
  2. 2 Corinthians 9:10 NU will supply

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

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10 “For (A)as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,

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10 As the rain(A) and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,(B)
    so that it yields seed(C) for the sower and bread for the eater,(D)

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“You have (A)sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do not have enough;
You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And (B)he who earns wages,
Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”

Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! Go up to the (C)mountains and bring wood and build the [a]temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord. (D)You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, (E)I blew it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore (F)the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11 For I (G)called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on (H)all the labor of your hands.”

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Footnotes

  1. Haggai 1:8 Lit. house

You have planted much, but harvested little.(A) You eat, but never have enough.(B) You drink, but never have your fill.(C) You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages,(D) only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought(E) to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber(F) and build my house, so that I may take pleasure(G) in it and be honored,(H)” says the Lord. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.(I) What you brought home, I blew(J) away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin,(K) while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld(L) their dew(M) and the earth its crops.(N) 11 I called for a drought(O) on the fields and the mountains,(P) on the grain, the new wine,(Q) the olive oil(R) and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.(S)

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12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
(A)Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He (B)comes and rains righteousness on you.

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12 Sow(A) righteousness(B) for yourselves,
    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;(C)
    for it is time to seek(D) the Lord,
until he comes
    and showers his righteousness(E) on you.

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The Cheerful Giver

(A)But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows [a]bountifully will also reap [b]bountifully.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 9:6 with blessings
  2. 2 Corinthians 9:6 with blessings

Generosity Encouraged

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.(A)

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11 (A)But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts.

12 ‘For(B) the [a]seed shall be prosperous,
The vine shall give its fruit,
(C)The ground shall give her increase,
And (D)the heavens shall give their dew—
I will cause the remnant of this people
To possess all these.

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 8:12 Lit. seed of peace

11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,”(A) declares the Lord Almighty.

12 “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit,(B) the ground will produce its crops,(C) and the heavens will drop their dew.(D) I will give all these things as an inheritance(E) to the remnant of this people.(F)

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36 (A)And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that (B)both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: (C)‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; (D)others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

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36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests(A) a crop for eternal life,(B) so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’(C) is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

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Watering, Working, Warning

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but (A)ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? (B)I planted, (C)Apollos watered, (D)but God gave the increase. So then (E)neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

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What, after all, is Apollos?(A) And what is Paul? Only servants,(B) through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed,(C) Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

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17 (A)I struck you with blight and mildew and hail (B)in all the labors of your hands; (C)yet you did not turn to Me,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from (D)the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid—consider it: 19 (E)Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will (F)bless you.’ ”

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17 I struck all the work of your hands(A) with blight,(B) mildew and hail,(C) yet you did not return(D) to me,’ declares the Lord.(E) 18 ‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought(F) to the day when the foundation(G) of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19 Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate(H) and the olive tree have not borne fruit.(I)

“‘From this day on I will bless(J) you.’”

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Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. (A)Convince, (B)rebuke, (C)exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

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Preach(A) the word;(B) be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke(C) and encourage(D)—with great patience and careful instruction.

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The Parable of the Growing Seed

26 And He said, (A)“The kingdom of God is as if a man should [a]scatter seed on the ground, 27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and (B)grow, he himself does not know how. 28 For the earth (C)yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain ripens, immediately (D)he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 4:26 sow

The Parable of the Growing Seed

26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like.(A) A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”(B)

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10 (A)Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your (B)might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

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10 Whatever(A) your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,(B) for in the realm of the dead,(C) where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.(D)

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