2 Corinthians 8
1 And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace of God that has been bestowed upon the congregations of Macedonia,
Now we make known to you, brothers, the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.
2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their extreme poverty produced their extravagant, sincere generosity.
During a severe trial of affliction, their abundant joy and their deep poverty abounded in a wealth of generosity on their part.
3 Because according to their ability, I bear witness, even beyond that ability, of their own accord,
For I testify that according to their ability, and even beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord,
4 they begged us with much entreaty to receive the gift, the sharing in the ministry to the saints
urgently begging us for the privilege of contributing to the gift for the saints in Jerusalem.
5 —and more than we had hoped, they first gave themselves to the Lord (and due to God's will, to us).
And they did not do this in the way we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us by the will of God.
6 So we urged Titus that as he had made a beginning so he should also bring to completion in you this grace as well;
So we have urged Titus, who previously encouraged you to begin gathering money, to return and help you complete this gracious gift.
7 that as you excel in everything—in faith, in word, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—that you excel in this grace too.
But just as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in your love for us—make sure you abound in this gracious gift as well.
8 I am not giving a command, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others.
I am not saying this as a command, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you could become rich.
10 So here is my advice in this (since already a year ago you began to give and to plan, this is to your advantage):
So I am giving my advice about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were not only the first who wanted to give, but you were also the first to begin doing so.
11 now you must really finish the doing—not only of the enthusiastic planning but also of the completing—out of what you have
Now finish doing it, so that your eager willingness to give may be matched by your completion of the gift, according to what you have.
12 (because when the intention is presented, it is acceptable according to what one may have, not what he does not have).
For if the eager willingness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
13 Now this is not to distress you so as to relieve others,
I do not mean there should be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a matter of equality. At the present time your abundance should provide for their need,
14 but by way of balance—at this juncture your surplus alleviates their lack, so that later their surplus may alleviate your lack—yes, that there be balance;
so that in turn their abundance may provide for your need, and thus there may be equality.
15 as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”
As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”
16 Now thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you in the heart of Titus;
But thanks be to God, who has put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care for you that I have.
17 because he not only welcomed my appeal but being very diligent he went to you of his own accord.
For Titus not only accepted our appeal, but with great enthusiasm he is coming to you of his own accord.
18 But we have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the Gospel is throughout all the congregations;
With him we are sending the brother who is praised by all the churches for his preaching of the gospel.
19 and not only that—he was actually chosen by the congregations as our traveling companion with this gift, that is being administered by us with a view to the glory of the Lord Himself, and to our own goodwill,
And not only that, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we administer this gracious gift for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our eager willingness to help.
20 avoiding any criticism about how we are handling this abundance;
We are taking this precaution so that no one will discredit us with respect to this large sum that we are administering.
21 giving thought to blamelessness, not only before the Lord but also before men.
For we are giving careful thought to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men.
22 Further, we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved to be diligent in many things, but now much more so, because of our great confidence in you.
We are also sending with them our brother whom we have often tested and found to be earnest in many matters, and now he is even more earnest because of his great confidence in you.
23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker toward you; as for our brothers, they are envoys of the congregations, a glory of Christ.
If there is any question about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker in your service. If there is any question about our brothers, they are delegates of the churches, the glory of Christ.
24 Therefore show the proof of your love (and of our boasting about you) to them as representatives of the congregations.
Therefore show them in front of all the churches the proof of your love and the reason for our boasting about you.
