Parallel Bible results for "2 corinthians 8"

2 Corinthians 8

New Living Translation NLT

1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.

2 They 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.

3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.

4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.

5 They 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.

6 So 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.

7 Since 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.

8 I 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.

9 You 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.

10 Here 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.

11 Now 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.

12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.

13 Of 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.

14 Right 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.

15 As the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.”

16 But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have.

17 Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you.

18 We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News.

19 He 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.

20 We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift.

21 We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.

22 We 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.

23 If 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.

24 So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified.

Common English Bible CEB

1 Brothers and sisters, we want to let you know about the grace of God that was given to the churches of Macedonia.

2 While they were being tested by many problems, their extra amount of happiness and their extreme poverty resulted in a surplus of rich generosity.

3 I assure you that they gave what they could afford and even more than they could afford, and they did it voluntarily.

4 They urgently begged us for the privilege of sharing in this service for the saints.

5 They even exceeded our expectations, because they gave themselves to the Lord first and to us, consistent with God's will.

6 As a result, we challenged Titus to finish this work of grace with you the way he had started it.

7 Be the best in this work of grace in the same way that you are the best in everything, such as faith, speech, knowledge, total commitment, and the love we inspired in you.

8 I'm not giving an order, but by mentioning the commitment of others, I'm trying to prove the authenticity of your love also.

9 You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Although he was rich, he became poor for our sakes, so that you could become rich through his poverty.

10 I'm giving you my opinion about this. It's to your advantage to do this, since you not only started to do it last year but you wanted to do it too.

11 Now finish the job as well so that you finish it with as much enthusiasm as you started, given what you can afford.

12 A gift is appreciated because of what a person can afford, not because of what that person can't afford, if it's apparent that it's done willingly.

13 It isn't that we want others to have financial ease and you financial difficulties, but it's a matter of equality.

14 At the present moment, your surplus can fill their deficit so that in the future their surplus can fill your deficit. In this way there is equality.

15 As it is written, The one who gathered more didn't have too much, and the one who gathered less didn't have too little.

16 But thank God, who put the same commitment that I have for you in Titus' heart.

17 Not only has he accepted our challenge but he's on his way to see you voluntarily, and he's excited.

18 We are sending the brother who is famous in all the churches because of his work for the gospel along with him.

19 In addition to this, he is chosen by the churches to be our traveling companion in this work of grace, which we are taking care of for the sake of the glory of the Lord himself, and to show our desire to help.

20 We are trying to avoid being blamed by anyone for the way we take care of this large amount of money.

21 We care about doing the right thing, not only in the Lord's eyes but also in the eyes of other people.

22 We are sending our brother with them. We have tested his commitment in many ways and many times. Now he's even more committed, because he has so much confidence in you.

23 If there is any question about Titus, he is my partner and coworker among you. If there is any question about our brothers, they are the churches' apostles and an honor to Christ.

24 So show them the proof of your love and the reason we are so proud of you, in such a way that the churches can see it.