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2 Corinthians 8

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 τὸν πλοῦτον τῆς ἁπλότητος αὐτῶν·
2In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity.
3ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ ὑπὲρ 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, οὕτω 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 ὑμῶν ἐν ἡμῖν 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—see 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 ἐπτώχευσε 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, οὕτω 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 τις 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 δὲ θλῖψις, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ ἰσότητος· ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ τὸ ὑμῶν περίσσευμα εἰς τὸ ἐκείνων ὑστέρημα,
13It is not our intention that others may be relieved while you are burdened, but that there may be equality.
14ἵνα 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 ἐπλεόνασε, καὶ ὁ τὸ ὀλίγον οὐκ ἠλαττόνησε.
15As it is written: “He who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall.”
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 ἐξῆλθε 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 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.
21προνοούμενοι 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 of the churches, the glory of Christ.
24τὴν οὖν ἔνδειξιν τῆς ἀγάπης ὑμῶν καὶ ἡμῶν καυχήσεως ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐνδείξασθε 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.