| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, | 1Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. |
| 2for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. | 2They 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. |
| 3For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, | 3For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. |
| 4begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— | 4They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. |
| 5and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. | 5They 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. |
| 6Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. | 6So 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. |
| 7But 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. | 7Since 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. |
| 8I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. | 8I 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. |
| 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 by his poverty might become rich. | 9You 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. |
| 10And 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. | 10Here 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. |
| 11So 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. | 11Now 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. |
| 12For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. | 12Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. |
| 13For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness | 13Of 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. |
| 14your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. | 14Right 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. |
| 15As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.” | 15As the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.” Titus and His Companions |
| 16But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. | 16But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have. |
| 17For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. | 17Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you. |
| 18With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. | 18We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News. |
| 19And 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. | 19He 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. |
| 20We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, | 20We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. |
| 21for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man. | 21We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable. |
| 22And 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. | 22We 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. |
| 23As 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. | 23If 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. |
| 24So give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to these men. | 24So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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