2Cor 8 | EE | STEP | Friends, we want you to know how very good God has been to the groups of believers in Macedonia.

2 Corinthians 8

Paul wants the Christians at Corinth to give money for the poor people at Jerusalem

1 Friends, we want you to know how very good God has been to the groups of believers in Macedonia. 2 They have had very bad troubles. But those troubles caused them to show how much they really believed God. They were so very, very happy, and so they gave a lot of money to help other people. They themselves were very poor, but still they gave so much money. 3 I tell you this, which is certainly true. They gave as much money as they were able to give. They even gave more than they could. They themselves wanted to give that much money. 4 They asked us very strongly to receive their gift of money. They wanted very much to do something that would help God’s people. 5 They did more than we had even hoped for! They gave themselves first to the Lord, and then they gave themselves to us also. They did that because God wanted them to do it.

6 So, because of this, we asked Titus if he would continue to help you. He is the person who started this good work. So, he will help you to finish it. He will help you to be kind in this way. 7 You have so very much of everything. You believe God very much. You speak well and you understand a lot. You want very much to help, and you love us. So, be ready also to give plenty so that you can be good and kind in this way.

8 I am not telling you that you must do this. But I have told you how very much other groups of believers want to help. And this is a way to show how much you really love other people. 9 You know how very, very kind our Lord Jesus Christ is. He was rich, but he made himself poor to help you. So then, because he became poor, as a result you could become rich.

10 Last year, you were the first people who wanted to give. And you were the first to begin that work. So, the best thing for you to do is to finish that work. That is what I think. 11 Now finish the work. When you started, you wanted very much to do it. Now be as ready to finish it. Give what you can give. 12 If you really want to give, then God will accept your gift. He will not want you to give more than you are able to give. But he will be happy because you have given. You have given as much as you can give.

13 You will make other people’s lives easier because of your gift. But my purpose is not that your lives should become more difficult as a result. No, instead I want things to be equal. 14 At this time now, you yourselves have plenty. So, you should give to those people who do not have enough. Then, at a future time when they have plenty, they will be able to give to you. They will be able to help you when you do not have enough. So then, they will help you in the same way as you helped them. 15 As it says in the Bible:

‘The person who brought back a lot did not have too much.
And the person who brought back a small amount still had enough.’

Paul is sending Titus and other Christian men to Corinth

16 God has caused Titus to love you so much that he really wants to help you. So, we thank God because of this. Titus wants to help you as much as we ourselves want to help you. 17 He was so happy when we asked him to help you. He already wanted so much to help you that he himself had decided to visit you. 18 We are sending another man, who is a believer like us, with Titus. All the groups of believers say very good things about this other man. He is famous among them because he tells the good news about Christ so very well. 19 And that is not everything. Also, the groups of believers have chosen this man to travel with us. They wanted him to help us when we take your gifts. They wanted him to help with this work that we do for God. We are doing it to show how great and good God is. We are doing it also because we want to help people.

20 We are being very careful about this large gift of money that we will take to people. We do not want anyone to say that we have done anything wrong. We want everyone to see that we are honest. 21 We want to do only what is right. We want the Lord to see that we are doing the right thing. Also, we want people to see that we are doing the right thing.

22 We are sending another man also, with these men. Many times, in many ways, this man has shown certainly that he wants very much to help. And now that he is so very sure about you, he wants to help even more. 23 If anyone asks about Titus, he works with me. He works together with me, to help you. If anyone asks about the other men, they are coming on behalf of the groups of believers. And those men are good servants of Christ. They show how great and good Christ is. 24 So, show these men certainly that you love them. Then all the groups of believers will be sure about you. They will be sure that we are right to say good things about you.