41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor,(A) and everything will be clean for you.(B)

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33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor.(A) Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven(B) that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.(C)

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15 To the pure, all things are pure,(A) but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.(B) In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.(C)

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I tell you, use worldly wealth(A) to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.(B)

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27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after(A) orphans and widows(B) in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.(C)

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16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others,(A) for with such sacrifices(B) God is pleased.

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But since you excel in everything(A)—in faith, in speech, in knowledge,(B) 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,(C) but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace(D) of our Lord Jesus Christ,(E) that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,(F) so that you through his poverty might become rich.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 8:7 Some manuscripts and in your love for us

15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”(A)

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27 Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed.(A) It may be that then your prosperity(B) will continue.(C)

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Is it not to share your food with the hungry(A)
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter(B)
when you see the naked, to clothe(C) them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?(D)
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,(E)
    and your healing(F) will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a](G) will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.(H)
Then you will call,(I) and the Lord will answer;(J)
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger(K) and malicious talk,(L)
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,(M)
then your light(N) will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.(O)
11 The Lord will guide(P) you always;
    he will satisfy your needs(Q) in a sun-scorched land(R)
    and will strengthen(S) your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,(T)
    like a spring(U) whose waters never fail.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One

17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,(A)
    and he will reward them for what they have done.(B)

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31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,(A)
    but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.(B)

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16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.(A) And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.(B) 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them,(C) how can the love of God be in that person?(D)

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Faith and Deeds

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?(A) Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.(B) 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?(C)

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10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.(A)

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Generosity Encouraged

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

“They have freely scattered their gifts(G) to the poor;
    their righteousness endures forever.”[a](H)

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

12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs(N) of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.(O) 13 Because of the service(P) by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God(Q) for the obedience that accompanies your confession(R) of the gospel of Christ,(S) and for your generosity(T) 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(U) for his indescribable gift!(V)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 9:9 Psalm 112:9

12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has,(A) not according to what one does not have.

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36 In Joppa(A) there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good(B) and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.(C) 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples(D) heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”

39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows(E) stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

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But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord,(A) “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything,(B) I will pay back four times the amount.”(C)

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22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor,(A) and you will have treasure in heaven.(B) Then come, follow me.”

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12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,(A) 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”(B)

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34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom(A) prepared for you since the creation of the world.(B) 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,(C) 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me,(D) I was sick and you looked after me,(E) I was in prison and you came to visit me.’(F)

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’(G)

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Giving to the Needy

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.(A) If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.(B)

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42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.(A)

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Invest in Many Ventures

11 Ship(A) your grain across the sea;
    after many days you may receive a return.(B)
Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
    you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

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