| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on 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. |
| 2How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. | 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 to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; | 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. |
| 4Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. | 4They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. |
| 5And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. | 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. |
| 6Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. | 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. |
| 7Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this 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 speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. | 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 ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be 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 herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. | 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. |
| 11Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye 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 there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. | 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 mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: | 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. |
| 14But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: | 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, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had 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, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. | 16But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have. |
| 17For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you. | 17Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you. |
| 18And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches; | 18We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News. |
| 19And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind: | 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. |
| 20Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us: | 20We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. |
| 21Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. | 21We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable. |
| 22And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have 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. |
| 23Whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellowhelper concerning you: or our brethren be inquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and 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. |
| 24Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf. | 24So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | 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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