5
So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the 1gift[a] you have promised, so that it may be ready 2as a willing gift, 3not as an exaction.[b]
3
But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be.
4
Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated--to say nothing of you--for being so confident.
5
So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.
6
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.