2 Corinthians 8

₁Our brothers and sisters, we want you to know what God's grace has accomplished in the churches in Macedonia. ₂They have been severely tested by the troubles they went through; but their joy was so great that they were extremely generous in their giving, even though they are very poor. ₃I can assure you that they gave as much as they could, and even more than they could. Of their own free will ₄they begged us and pleaded for the privilege of having a part in helping God's people in Judea. ₅It was more than we could have hoped for! First they gave themselves to the Lord; and then, by God's will they gave themselves to us as well. ₆So we urged Titus, who began this work, to continue it and help you complete this special service of love. ₇You are so rich in all you have: in faith, speech, and knowledge, in your eagerness to help and in your love for us. And so we want you to be generous also in this service of love.

₈I am not laying down any rules. But by showing how eager others are to help, I am trying to find out how real your own love is. ₉You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; rich as he was, he made himself poor for your sake, in order to make you rich by means of his poverty.

₁₀My opinion is that it is better for you to finish now what you began last year. You were the first, not only to act, but also to be willing to act. ₁₁On with it, then, and finish the job! Be as eager to finish it as you were to plan it, and do it with what you now have. ₁₂If you are eager to give, God will accept your gift on the basis of what you have to give, not on what you haven't.

_13-14I am not trying to relieve others by putting a burden on you; but since you have plenty at this time, it is only fair that you should help those who are in need. Then, when you are in need and they have plenty, they will help you. In this way both are treated equally. ₁₅As the scripture says, “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

₁₆How we thank God for making Titus as eager as we are to help you! ₁₇Not only did he welcome our request; he was so eager to help that of his own free will he decided to go to you. ₁₈With him we are sending the brother who is highly respected in all the churches for his work in preaching the gospel. ₁₉And besides that, he has been chosen and appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this service of love for the sake of the Lord's glory, and in order to show that we want to help.

₂₀We are taking care not to stir up any complaints about the way we handle this generous gift. ₂₁Our purpose is to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of others.

₂₂So we are sending our brother with them; we have tested him many times and found him always very eager to help. And now that he has so much confidence in you, he is all the more eager to help. ₂₃As for Titus, he is my partner and works with me to help you; as for the other brothers who are going with him, they represent the churches and bring glory to Christ. ₂₄Show your love to them, so that all the churches will be sure of it and know that we are right in boasting about you.