2 Corinthians 8 Parallel Bible Translations

2 Corinthians 8 ▼
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1 I must acquaint you, brethren, with the contribution which the churches of Macedonia have religiously made, We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.
2 who tho' labouring under great trial of affliction, and extreme poverty, have notwithstanding with exceeding cheerfulness contributed very liberally: being forward of themselves to the utmost of their power, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.
3 (I bear them witness) yea, and beyond their power: For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,
4 earnestly intreating me to take the gift, and the charge of conveying it to the converts at Jerusalem: begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.
5 and in this they out-did my expectation; such was the divine pleasure, they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then made me an offer to go themselves to Corinth. and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.
6 I therefore desired Titus, as he had begun, to finish this contribution among you. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.
7 that as you excel in every thing, in faith, in language, mystical knowledge, in all virtue, and in your affection to us; I hope you will excel too in this charitable disposition. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you —see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
8 I don't mean to prescribe to you, but that the zeal of others may show you are as sincerely well-affected. I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.
9 for you are sensible of the beneficence of our Lord Jesus Christ; powerful as he was, for your sake he became poor, that you through his poverty might be made rich. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
10 in this I only advise you: it being for your credit, since you have not only begun to execute it, but you were the first that form'd the design a year ago. And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.
11 Pray then, dispatch this affair; as you readily undertook it, as readily perform it, to the best of your abilities. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.
12 for what a man gives with a ready mind, according to his abilities, is well received; but not when he goes beyond his circumstances. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
13 my meaning is not, that you should be distress'd to relieve others, I only recommend an equality; For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.
14 that as your present sufficiency supplies their wants, their sufficiency may supply your occasions another way: and thus there will be an equality. your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality,
15 as it is written, " he that had much, had nothing over, and he that had little, had no lack." As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.” as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”
16 But thanks be to God, who disposed Titus to be so industrious for you. But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you.
17 for he not only complyed with my exhortation, but being more than ordinarily concern'd, he voluntarily went to you; For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.
18 with whom I have sent one of the brethren, who is not only distinguish'd among all the churches, by his preaching the gospel, With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel.
19 but was chosen by the churches to accompany me with this collection; which service I undertook for the sake of Christ, and to encourage your generous design. And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help.
20 this I did, to prevent any suspicion that might be rais'd from my having the management of so great a sum: We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift.
21 always considering what is virtuous, with respect to God, and with respect to men. for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.
22 I have sent likewise another of our brethren, whose diligence I have experienc'd in several affairs. And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you. In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you.
23 now as to Titus, he is my collegue, and assists me in your affairs: as to our brethren, they are the deputies of the churches, and the glory of the christian profession. As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ.
24 wherefore show how much you love them, and how well you deserve the character I gave you, before all the churches. So give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to these men. Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.
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