2 Corinthians 8

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Generosity Commended

¹Γνωρίζομεν δὲ ὑμῖν ἀδελφοί τὴν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν δεδομένην ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῆς Μακεδονίας

¹Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia.

²ὅτι ἐν πολλῇ δοκιμῇ θλίψεως ἡ περισσεία τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ κατὰ βάθους πτωχεία αὐτῶν ἐπερίσσευσεν εἰς τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς ἁπλότητος αὐτῶν

²In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity.

³ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν μαρτυρῶ καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν αὐθαίρετοι

³For I testify that they gave according to their ability and even beyond it. Of their own accord,

⁴μετὰ πολλῆς παρακλήσεως δεόμενοι ἡμῶν τὴν χάριν καὶ τὴν κοινωνίαν τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους

⁴they earnestly pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.

⁵καὶ οὐ καθὼς ἠλπίσαμεν ἀλλ’ ἑαυτοὺς ἔδωκαν πρῶτον τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ ἡμῖν διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ

⁵And not only did they do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, through the will of God.

⁶Εἰς τὸ παρακαλέσαι ἡμᾶς Τίτον ἵνα καθὼς προενήρξατο οὕτως καὶ ἐπιτελέσῃ εἰς ὑμᾶς καὶ τὴν χάριν ταύτην

⁶So we urged Titus to help complete your act of grace, just as he had started it.

⁷ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ 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

⁷But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in the love we inspired in you—^asee that you also excel in this grace of giving.

⁸Οὐ κατ’ ἐπιταγὴν λέγω ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἑτέρων σπουδῆς καὶ τὸ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀγάπης γνήσιον δοκιμάζων

⁸I am not giving a command, but I am testing the sincerity of your love through the earnestness of others.

⁹Γινώσκετε γὰρ τὴν χάριν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ὅτι δι’ ὑμᾶς ἐπτώχευσεν πλούσιος ὤν ἵνα ὑμεῖς τῇ ἐκείνου πτωχείᾳ πλουτήσητε

⁹For 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.

¹⁰καὶ γνώμην ἐν τούτῳ δίδωμι τοῦτο γὰρ ὑμῖν συμφέρει οἵτινες οὐ μόνον τὸ ποιῆσαι ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ θέλειν προενήρξασθε ἀπὸ πέρυσι

¹⁰And this is my opinion about what is helpful for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give, but even to have such a desire.

¹¹νυνὶ δὲ καὶ τὸ ποιῆσαι ἐπιτελέσατε ὅπως καθάπερ ἡ προθυμία τοῦ θέλειν οὕτως καὶ τὸ ἐπιτελέσαι ἐκ τοῦ ἔχειν

¹¹Now finish the work, so that you may complete it with the same eager desire, according to your means.

¹²εἰ γὰρ ἡ προθυμία πρόκειται καθὸ ἐὰν ἔχῃ εὐπρόσδεκτος οὐ καθὸ οὐκ ἔχει

¹²For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

¹³Οὐ γὰρ ἵνα ἄλλοις ἄνεσις ὑμῖν θλῖψις ἀλλ’ ἐξ ἰσότητος

¹³It is not our intention that others may be relieved while you are burdened, but that there may be equality.

¹⁴ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ τὸ ὑμῶν περίσσευμα εἰς τὸ ἐκείνων ὑστέρημα ἵνα καὶ τὸ ἐκείνων περίσσευμα γένηται εἰς τὸ ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα ὅπως γένηται ἰσότης

¹⁴At the present time, your surplus will meet their need, so that in turn their surplus will meet your need. This way there will be equality.

¹⁵καθὼς γέγραπται Ὁ τὸ πολὺ οὐκ ἐπλεόνασεν καὶ ὁ τὸ ὀλίγον οὐκ ἠλαττόνησεν

¹⁵As it is written:

“He who gathered much had no excess,

and he who gathered little had no shortfall.”^a

Titus Commended

¹⁶Χάρις δὲ τῷ Θεῷ τῷ διδόντι τὴν αὐτὴν σπουδὴν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ Τίτου

¹⁶But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same devotion I have for you.

¹⁷ὅτι τὴν μὲν παράκλησιν ἐδέξατο σπουδαιότερος δὲ ὑπάρχων αὐθαίρετος ἐξῆλθεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς

¹⁷For not only did he welcome our appeal, but he is eagerly coming to you of his own volition.

¹⁸Συνεπέμψαμεν δὲ μετ’ αὐτοῦ τὸν ἀδελφὸν οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ διὰ πασῶν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν

¹⁸Along with Titus we are sending the brother who is praised by all the churches for his work in the gospel.

¹⁹οὐ μόνον δὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ χειροτονηθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν συνέκδημος ἡμῶν σὺν τῇ χάριτι ταύτῃ τῇ διακονουμένῃ ὑφ’ ἡμῶν πρὸς τὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου δόξαν καὶ προθυμίαν ἡμῶν

¹⁹More than that, this brother was chosen by the churches to accompany us with the gracious offering we administer^a to honor the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help.

²⁰στελλόμενοι τοῦτο μή τις ἡμᾶς μωμήσηται ἐν τῇ ἁδρότητι ταύτῃ τῇ διακονουμένῃ ὑφ’ ἡμῶν

²⁰We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this generous gift.

²¹προνοοῦμεν γὰρ καλὰ οὐ μόνον ἐνώπιον Κυρίου ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐνώπιον ἀνθρώπων

²¹For we are taking great care to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of men.

²²Συνεπέμψαμεν δὲ αὐτοῖς τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἡμῶν ὃν ἐδοκιμάσαμεν ἐν πολλοῖς πολλάκις σπουδαῖον ὄντα νυνὶ δὲ πολὺ σπουδαιότερον πεποιθήσει πολλῇ τῇ εἰς ὑμᾶς

²²And we are sending along with them our brother who has proven his earnestness to us many times and in many ways, and now even more so by his great confidence in you.

²³εἴτε ὑπὲρ Τίτου κοινωνὸς ἐμὸς καὶ εἰς ὑμᾶς συνεργός εἴτε ἀδελφοὶ ἡμῶν ἀπόστολοι ἐκκλησιῶν δόξα Χριστοῦ

²³As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you. As for our brothers, they are messengers^a of the churches, the glory of Christ.

²⁴τὴν οὖν ἔνδειξιν τῆς ἀγάπης ὑμῶν καὶ ἡμῶν καυχήσεως ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐνδεικνύμενοι εἰς πρόσωπον τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν

²⁴In full view of the churches, then, show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our boasting about you.