DB1 | Liberal Giving 2Cor.8.1-15 | NEB Contents | notes| 8 | New English Bible (New Testament) | Passage | New Testament in Greek (UBS.Ed.26) |
| 8 1 | WE MUST TELL YOU, friends, about the grace of generosity which God has imparted to Or: how gracious God has been to ... our congregations in Macedonia. | Liberal Giving 2Cor.8.1-15 | Γνωρίζομεν δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δεδομένην ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῆς Μακεδονίας, |
| 2 | The troubles they have been through have tried them hard, yet in all this they have been so exuberantly happy that from the depths of their poverty they have shown themselves lavishly open-handed. | ὁτι ἐν πολλῇ δοκιμῇ θλίψεως ἡ περισσεία τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ κατὰ βάθους πτωχεία αὐτῶν ἐπερίσσευσεν εἰς τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς ἀπλότητος αὐτῶν· | |
| 3 | Going to the limit of their resources, as I can testify, and even beyond that limit, | ὁτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν, αὐθαίρετοι | |
| 4 | they begged us most insistently, and on their own initiative, to be allowed to share in this generous service to their fellow-Christians. | μετὰ πολλῆς παρακλήσεως δεόμενοι ἡμῶν τὴν χάριν καὶ τὴν κοινωνίαν τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἀγίους - | |
| 5 | And their giving surpassed our expectations; for they gave their very selves, offering them in the first instance to the Lord, but also, under God, to us. | καὶ οὐ καθὼς ἠλπίσαμεν ἀλλὰ ἑαυτοὺς ἐδωκαν πρῶτον τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἡμῖν διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ, | |
| 6 | The upshot is that we have asked Titus, who began it all, to visit you and bring this work of generosity also to completion. | εἰς τὸ παρακαλέσαι ἡμᾶς Τίτον ἵνα καθὼς προενήρξατο οὑτως καὶ ἐπιτελέσῃ εἰς ὑμᾶς καὶ τὴν χάριν ταύτην. | |
| 7 | You are so rich in everything?in faith, speech, knowledge, and zeal of every kind, as well as in the loving regard you have for us Some witnesses read: the love we have for you; Or: the love which we have kindled in your hearts. ?surely you should show yourselves equally lavish in this generous service! | ἀλλ' ὡσπερ ἐν παντὶ περισσεύετε, πίστει καὶ λόγῳ καὶ γνώσει καὶ πάσῃ σπουδῇ καὶ τῇ ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐν ὑμῖν ἀγάπῃ, ἵνα καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ χάριτι περισσεύητε. | |
| 8 | This is not meant as an order; by telling you how keen others are I am putting your love to the test. | Οὐ κατ' ἐπιταγὴν λέγω, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἑτέρων σπουδῆς καὶ τὸ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀγάπης γνήσιον δοκιμάζων· | |
| 9 | For you know how generous our Lord Jesus Christ has been: he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich. | γινώσκετε γὰρ τὴν χάριν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅτι δῖ ὑμᾶς ἐπτώχευσεν πλούσιος ὠν, ἵνα ὑμεῖς τῇ ἐκείνου πτωχείᾳ πλουτήσητε. | |
| 10 | Here is my considered opinion on the matter. What I ask you to do is in your own interests. You made a good beginning last year both in the work you did and in your willingness to undertake it. | καὶ γνώμην ἐν τούτῳ δίδωμι· τοῦτο γὰρ ὑμῖν συμφέρει, οἱτινες οὐ μόνον τὸ ποιῆσαι ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ θέλειν προενήρξασθε ἀπὸ πέρυσι· | |
| 11 | Now I want you to go on and finish it: be as eager to complete the scheme as you were to adopt it, and give according to your means. | νυνὶ δὲ καὶ τὸ ποιῆσαι ἐπιτελέσατε, ὁπως καθάπερ ἡ προθυμία τοῦ θέλειν οὑτως καὶ τὸ ἐπιτελέσαι ἐκ τοῦ ἐχειν. | |
| 12 | Provided there is an eager desire to give, God accepts what a man has; he does not ask for what he has not. | εἰ γὰρ ἡ προθυμία πρόκειται, καθὸ ἐὰν ἐχῃ εὐπρόσδεκτος, οὐ καθὸ οὐκ ἐχει. | |
| 13 | There is no question of relieving others at the cost of hardship to yourselves; | οὐ γὰρ ἵνα ἀλλοις ἀνεσις, ὑμῖν θλῖψις· ἀλλ' ἐξ ἰσότητος | |
| 14 | it is a question of equality. At the moment your surplus meets their need, but one day your need may be met from their surplus. | ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ τὸ ὑμῶν περίσσευμα εἰς τὸ ἐκείνων ὑστέρημα, ἵνα καὶ τὸ ἐκείνων περίσσευμα γένηται εἰς τὸ ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα, ὁπως γένηται ἰσότης· | |
| 15 | The aim is equality; as Scripture has it, 'The man who got much had no more than enough, and the man who got little did not go short.' | - He who gathered much had nothing over 2Cor.8.15 | Ex.16.18 | καθὼς γέγραπται, Ὁ τὸ πολὺ οὐκ ἐπλεόνασεν, |