| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you; | 1I really don’t need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in Jerusalem. |
| 2for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority. | 2For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving. |
| 3Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready; | 3But I am sending these brothers to be sure you really are ready, as I have been telling them, and that your money is all collected. I don’t want to be wrong in my boasting about you. |
| 4lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this confident boasting. | 4We would be embarrassed—not to mention your own embarrassment—if some Macedonian believers came with me and found that you weren’t ready after all I had told them! |
| 5Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. | 5So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly. |
| 6But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. | 6Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. |
| 7So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. | 7You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” |
| 8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. | 8And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. |
| 9As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” | 9As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” |
| 10Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, | 10For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. |
| 11while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. | 11Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. |
| 12For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, | 12So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God. |
| 13while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, | 13As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. |
| 14and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. | 14And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. |
| 15Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! | 15Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words! |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | 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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