In the morning sow your seed, and at evening (A)withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, 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 He who supplies (A)seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and (B)increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 (C)You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which (D)through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

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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 (A)“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    (B)giving 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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(A)You have sown much, and harvested little. (B)You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who (C)earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: (D)Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that (E)I may take pleasure in it and that (F)I may be glorified, says the Lord. (G)You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, (H)I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house (I)that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore (J)the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And (K)I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on (L)the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and (M)on all their labors.”

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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 (A)Sow for yourselves righteousness;
    reap steadfast love;
    (B)break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
    that he may come and (C)rain righteousness upon 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

The point is this: (A)whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully[a] will also reap bountifully.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 9:6 Greek with blessings; twice in this verse

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 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 (A)For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, (B)and the heavens shall give their dew. (C)And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

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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 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that (A)sower and (B)reaper (C)may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, (D)‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap (E)that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, (F)and you have entered into their labor.”

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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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17 (A)I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, (B)yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. 18 (C)Consider from this day onward, (D)from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since (E)the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, (F)consider: 19 (G)Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on (H)I will 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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What then is Apollos? What is Paul? (A)Servants through whom you believed, (B)as the Lord assigned to each. (C)I planted, (D)Apollos watered, (E)but God gave the growth. So (F)neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

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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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The Parable of the Seed Growing

26 And he said, (A)“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; (B)he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once (C)he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

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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 Whatever your hand finds to do, (A)do it with your might,[a] (B)for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:10 Or finds to do with your might, do it

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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preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; (A)reprove, rebuke, and (B)exhort, with complete patience 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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