2 Cô-rinh-tô 8

Generous giving in Macedonia

¹We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace God has given to the churches of Macedonia. ²Hardship has put them to a severe test, yet their joy has overflowed, and their deep poverty has spilled over into riches of generosity. ³I can vouch for it: they gave all they could, and more than they could, and they did it of their own free will. ⁴Again and again they appealed to us, begging for the favor of a share in the relief for God’s holy people. ⁵It went beyond anything we had hoped for. Before anything else they gave themselves to the Lord, and then, because God willed it, to us. ⁶That is why we have asked Titus, who got this started among you in the first place, to see this gift of grace through to the end with you as well.^{a 7}You overflow in everything else: faith, speech, knowledge, eagerness of every kind, and the love from us that now lives in you. Now see that you overflow in this gift of grace as well.^b

The grace of giving

⁸I am not giving you an order. I am using the eagerness of others to put your love to the test and show that it is real. ⁹After all, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: rich as he was, he became poor for your sake, so that his poverty might make you rich. ¹⁰I offer my advice on this, because it is in your interest. You made a start last year, ahead of others, and it was not only a matter of doing something: you wanted to do it. ¹¹Now bring the doing of it to an end as well. You were eager to want it; let the finishing show the same eagerness, giving out of whatever you have. ¹²When eagerness is there, a gift is welcomed for what the giver has, not judged by what the giver lacks. ¹³The point is not to bring relief to others by bringing hardship on you. It is a matter of equality. ¹⁴At this moment your surplus can meet their need, so that one day their surplus may meet yours. That way there is equality. ¹⁵As it is written, “The one who gathered a lot had nothing extra, and the one who gathered a little did not go short.”

Titus and the brothers

¹⁶But thanks be to God, who fills the heart of Titus with the same eager concern for you that I feel. ¹⁷Titus welcomed our request, but more than that, he is so keen that he is setting out to you by his own choice. ¹⁸Traveling with Titus is the brother whose work for the gospel has won him praise in all the churches; we are sending him too. ¹⁹Not only that: the churches voted to appoint him as our companion on the journey, as we take charge of this gift of grace. We do it to bring glory to the Lord himself, and because we are eager to help. ²⁰We are guarding against any charge that could be brought against us over this large sum we are handling. ²¹Our concern is for what is honorable, both before the Lord and before people. ²²With them we are also sending our brother. Time after time and in many situations we have put him to the test and found him eager, and he is more eager than ever now, because he has great confidence in you. ²³If anyone asks about Titus: he is a partner of mine, working with me for you. If they ask about our brothers: they are envoys of the churches, and they bring glory to Christ. ²⁴So, with the churches looking on, give these men proof of your love, and let them see why we have been proud of you.