| International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1We want you to know, brothers, about God's grace that was given to the churches of Macedonia. | 1Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. |
| 2In spite of their terrible ordeal of suffering, their abundant joy and deep poverty have led them to be abundantly generous. | 2They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. |
| 3I can testify that by their own free will they have given to the utmost of their ability, yes, even beyond their ability. | 3For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. |
| 4They begged us earnestly for the privilege of participating in this ministry to the saints. | 4They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. |
| 5We did not expect that! They gave themselves to the Lord first and then to us, since this was God's will. | 5They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do. |
| 6So we urged Titus to finish this work of kindness among you in the same way that he had started it. | 6So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving. |
| 7Indeed, the more your faith, speech, knowledge, enthusiasm, and love for us increase, the more we want you to be rich in this work of kindness. | 7Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us —I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving. |
| 8I am not commanding you but testing the genuineness of your love by the enthusiasm of others. | 8I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches. |
| 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. Although he was rich, for your sakes he became poor, so that you, through his poverty, might become rich. | 9You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. |
| 10I am giving you my opinion on this matter because it will be helpful to you. Last year you were not only willing to do something, but had already started to do it. | 10Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. |
| 11Now finish what you began, so that your eagerness to do so may be matched by your eagerness to complete it. | 11Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. |
| 12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you do not have. | 12Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. |
| 13Not that others should have relief while you have hardship. Rather, it is a question of fairness. | 13Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. |
| 14At the present time, your surplus fills their need, so that their surplus may fill your need. In this way things are fair. | 14Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. |
| 15As it is written, "The person who had much did not have too much, and the person who had little did not have too little." | 15As the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.” Titus and His Companions |
| 16But thanks be to God, who placed in the heart of Titus the same dedication to you that I have. | 16But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have. |
| 17He welcomed my request and eagerly went to visit you by his own free will. | 17Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you. |
| 18With him we have sent the brother who is praised in all the churches for spreading the gospel. | 18We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News. |
| 19More than that, he has also been selected by the churches to travel with us while we are administering this work of kindness for the glory of the Lord and as evidence of our eagerness to help. | 19He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem —a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help. |
| 20We are trying to avoid any criticism of the way we are administering this great undertaking. | 20We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. |
| 21We intend to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of people. | 21We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable. |
| 22We have also sent with them our brother whom we have often tested in many ways and found to be dedicated. At present he is more dedicated than ever because he has so much confidence in you. | 22We are also sending with them another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now even more enthusiastic because of his great confidence in you. |
| 23As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker on your behalf. Our brothers, emissaries from the churches, are bringing glory to the Messiah. | 23If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And the brothers with him have been sent by the churches, and they bring honor to Christ. |
| 24Therefore, demonstrate to the churches that you love them and show them publicly why we boast about you. | 24So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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