2 Corinthians 8
1 Now, my fellow believers, I want to tell you [what happened because of] God’s [acting] kindly [in the lives] of [the believers in] the congregations [here] in Macedonia [province].
Wir wollen euch nun auch mitteilen, liebe Brüder, wie reich sich die Gnade Gottes in den Gemeinden Mazedoniens erwiesen hat.
2 Even though [the non-believers here] have been causing the believers to suffer severely, the believers are always very joyful. [Although they] are very poor, [they gave] very generously [to help other believers].
Trotz ihrer bedrängten Lage haben sie große Freudigkeit gezeigt, und trotz ihrer tiefen Armut haben sie eine überreiche Freigebigkeit an den Tag gelegt.
3 [I know that this is true], because I have seen for myself that they not only gave [money] [EUP] that they were able [to give], they gave [so much money that they did] not even keep enough [to buy what they needed for themselves]. Without anyone telling them [to share their possessions],
Denn nach Kräften — das muß ich ihnen bezeugen —, ja über ihre Kräfte haben sie freiwillig beigesteuert.
4 they themselves kept requesting us to let them participate in what [other believers] are doing in [sending a gift of money to] [EUP] God’s people [in Judea province].
Sie haben uns dringend angefleht um die Gunst, an dem Liebeswerk für die Heiligen (in Jerusalem) teilnehmen zu dürfen.
5 I thought [that they would give only a little of their money, but] they did much [more than that]. First, they told the Lord [Jesus] that they wanted to do [what pleases him. After that, they told] me that they wanted to do [whatever I thought was good for them to do, because they were sure that] would be what God [wanted them to do].
Auch ist ihre Gabe viel reicher gewesen, als wir erwarten konnten: im Gehorsam gegen Gottes Willen haben sie sich selbst (und ihre Gaben) zunächst dem Herrn und dann auch uns zur Verfügung gestellt.
6 So, because Titus was the one who [helped you to] begin [gathering the money] [EUP, MTY] for your gift, I urged him to also [help you] finish [collecting the rest of] your generous and loving gift.
Dieser Erfolg hat uns nun ermutigt, dem Titus zuzureden, auch bei euch die schon früher begonnene Sammlung zu vollenden.
7 You are doing very well in so many [other] ways. [God’s Spirit enables you to] believe that [God] will [do miracles. His Spirit has given you the ability to] tell [God’s message to others. His Spirit makes you able to] know things that he reveals to you. You eagerly [want to help people], and you love us [(exc)] very much. [So now], try to also do well in getting your generous [gift of money] [EUP] [ready to send to the believers in Judea province].
Wie ihr euch sonst überall hervortut: durch Glauben, Einsicht und Erkenntnis, durch regen Eifer und zumal durch innige Liebe zu mir, so tut euch auch bei diesem Liebeswerk hervor!
8 I am not commanding you [to do this]. But [because I have seen how believers in] other [places] are eager [to help other believers who do not have] ([what they need/enough to live on]), I want you similarly to show that you love others sincerely.
Ich will euch hier nichts befehlen, ich halte euch nur den Eifer anderer vor, um zu prüfen, ob auch eure Liebe echt ist.
9 You already know [how much] our Lord Jesus [did for you] that you did not deserve. Everything [in heaven] belonged to him. But in order to benefit you, [he left all of those things behind and became a human being. Here on earth he had] very few possessions [of his own]. But because he became poor like that, he is [able to cause] you [(pl)] to become [spiritually] rich.
- Ihr kennt ja die Gnade unseres Herrn Jesus Christus: er war reich, und trotzdem ist er arm geworden um euretwillen, um euch durch seine Armut reich zu machen —.
10 So, [as you think of our Lord’s example, I will tell you] what I think that you should do in this matter [of giving money. As you know], last year, because you desired [to give money to help God’s people in Judea province], you began [collecting money] [EUP].
Ich gebe euch hier nur einen Rat. Den der kann euch nur nützlich sein. Im vorigen Jahr habt ihr schon mit der Sammlung begonnen: ihr habt sie also nicht nur zuerst ins Werk gesetzt, ihr habt sie auch zuerst beschlossen.
11 So now you should finish [collecting] the money [EUP] that you began [to gather]. In that way, [everyone will know that you are just] as ready to finish [collecting this gift] as you were to begin collecting it. Give what you are able to give.
Führt nun das angefangene Werk jetzt auch zu Ende, damit dem freudigen Entschluß auch die Tat entspreche, soweit euch eure Mittel das erlauben!
12 [Keep in mind that] if you really want to [give something to help others], whatever any one of you is [able to give] will be pleasing [to God. God does not expect his people to give more] than they can afford to give.
Denn wer mit freudigem Herzen nach seinem Vermögen gibt, der ist Gott angenehm. Gott verlangt nicht, was man selbst nicht hat.
13 I do not mean that [you should give so much to help others that] you yourselves do not have what you need. No, what I want is that [both you and others] will have what [you need].
Ihr sollt also andere nicht so unterstützen, daß ihre Not gelindert wird, während ihr selbst in Not geratet. Nein, es handelt sich hier nur um einen Ausgleich:
14 Right now, when you have (more [than you need/] ) and [the believers in Judea] do not have (enough/all that they need), [with your gift you will enable them to have enough. Maybe some day] when you do not have (enough/all that you need) and they have more than they need, they will [be able to] help you. Then everyone will have enough (OR, In that way each will share alike).
Diesmal soll euer Überfluß ihrem Mangel abhelfen, damit ein andermal ihr Überfluß euerm Mangel zugute komme. Auf diese Weise soll ein Ausgleich stattfinden,
15 [If that happens, the result will be like it is written] {[like someone/Moses] wrote} [in the Scriptures about the time when God provided manna for his people], If someone gathered a lot [of manna], he still did not have more than he needed, [because he gave some to someone who did not have enough]. And those who gathered only a little [manna] still had all that they needed [LIT], [because others who gathered more than they needed gave some manna to them].
wie geschrieben steht: Wer viel (Manna) sammelte, der hatte keinen Überfluß; und wer nur wenig sammelte, der litt keinen Mangel.
16 [So now I am sending Titus to visit you again]. God has caused him to be just as eager [to help you prepare your gift] as I am. I thank God for that.
Gott sei Dank, daß er Titus denselben Eifer um euch ins Herz gegeben hat (der uns erfüllt)!
17 [He is going there], not only because we urged him to go, but because he himself is very eager [to visit you again].
Denn er ist unserer Aufforderung (euch zu besuchen) nachgekommen. Bei seinem Eifer hätte es aber gar keiner Aufforderung bedurft: er kommt ganz aus eigenem Antrieb zu euch.
18 I am sending with Titus another believer [whom you know well]. All the groups of believers [in this area] think highly of him because he has [faithfully taught] the good message [about Christ].
Und mit ihm senden wir jenen Bruder, der als Diener der Heilsbotschaft in allen Gemeinden geschätzt wird,
19 Not only that, but he was appointed by the congregations [in this area] {the congregations [in this area] appointed him} to [go] to Jerusalem with us [(exc)]. He [will go] with us [when we take] the generous gift of money [EUP] [to the believers in Jerusalem. We are taking this] gift to honor the Lord [Jesus] and to show them that we all [very much] want to [help them].
und der außerdem auch zur Ehre des Herrn und auf unseren ausdrücklichen Wunsch von den Gemeinden (Mazedoniens) zu unserem Reisegefährten erwählt worden ist, um diese Liebesgabe, die wir jetzt einsammeln, mit uns (nach Jerusalem) zu bringen.
20 [The believers have] given money [EUP] generously. So, [by sending that fellow believer along with Titus] to take the money [to Jerusalem], we are trying to make sure that no one will be able to accuse us [(exc) of taking some of the money for ourselves].
So vermeiden wir die Gefahr, daß man uns bei dieser reichen Gabe, die wir sammeln irgendeinen Vorwurf mache.
21 [I say that] because we [(exc)] want to make sure that the Lord [God] will see that what we [(exc)] do is right, and other people will see it, too.
Den unsere Sorge ist, daß alles redlich zugehe nicht nur vor Gott, sondern auch vor Menschen.
22 Furthermore, there is also another believer [here] whom we are sending [to you along with the two] men [whom I have just mentioned]. Many times I have seen his good work [for the Lord], and I know that he is eager [to serve the Lord]. Now, because he knows for sure that you [want to give this gift the same as other believers do], he is even more eager than he was before [to go with the two other men].
Mit beiden senden wir noch einen dritten Bruder: sein Eifer, den wir schon bei vielen Gelegenheiten erprobt haben, ist gerade jetzt besonders groß, da er das vollste Vertrauen zu euch hat.
23 As for Titus, [I have chosen him because] he is my partner, and he has worked faithfully with me [to help you]. As for the other two men, the congregations [in this area] are sending them as their messengers. These two men honor Christ [by everything they do].
Für Titus rede ich, weil er mein Gehilfe und mein besonderer Mitarbeiter bei euch ist. Was die beiden anderen Brüder angeht, so sind sie Abgesandte der Gemeinden und Diener, die zur Ehre Christi wirken.
24 So then, show them that you truly love [others], and [in that way] help other congregations to understand [why] we [(exc)] are always saying such good things about you.
Wenn ihr nun diesen Männern Liebe beweist und das, was wir von euch gerühmt haben, durch euer Verhalten gegen sie rechtfertigt, so (steht ihr auch) vor den (anderen) Gemeinden (in gutem Licht da).
