Acts 11:28

28And one of them named aAgabus stood up and foretold bby the Spirit that there would be a great cfamine over all the world (this took place in the days of dClaudius).

Acts 11:30

30 eAnd they did so, sending it to fthe elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Acts 24:17

17Now gafter several years hI came to bring alms to imy nation and to present jofferings.

Romans 15:25-26

25At present, however, kI am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26For lMacedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.

2 Corinthians 8

Encouragement to Give Generously

1We want you to know, brothers,
Or  brothers and sisters
about the grace of God that has been ngiven among the churches of Macedonia,
2for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and otheir extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3For they gave paccording to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4begging us earnestly qfor the favor
The Greek word charis can mean  favor or grace or thanks, depending on the context
of taking part in sthe relief of the saints
5and this, not as we expected, but they tgave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6Accordingly, uwe urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you vthis act of grace. 7But as wyou excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you
Some manuscripts  in your love for us
ysee that you excel in this act of grace also.

8 zI say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that aathough he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 10And in this matter abI give my judgment: acthis benefits you, who ada year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do 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. 12For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable aeaccording to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14your abundance at the present time should supply aftheir need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15As it is written, ag“Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

Commendation of Titus

16But ahthanks be to God, aiwho put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. 17For ajhe not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going
Or  he went
to you of his own accord.
18With him we are sending
Or  we sent; also verse 22
amthe brother who is famous among anall the churches for his preaching of the gospel.
19And not only that, but he has been aoappointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of apgrace that is being ministered by us, aqfor the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. 20We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, 21for arwe aim at what is honorable asnot only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man. 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. 23As for Titus, he is atmy partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers
Greek apostles
of the churches, the glory of Christ.
24So give proof before the churches of your love and of avour boasting about you to these men.

2 Corinthians 9

The Collection for Christians in Jerusalem

1Now awit is superfluous for me to write to you about axthe ministry for the saints, 2for I know your readiness, ayof which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready azsince last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. 3But baI am sending
Or  I have sent
the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, bcas I said you would be.
4Otherwise, if some Macedonians bdcome with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident. 5So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the begift
Greek blessing; twice in this verse
you have promised, so that it may be ready bgas a willing gift, bhnot as an exaction.
Or  a gift expecting something in return; Greek greed


The Cheerful Giver

6The point is this: bjwhoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully
Greek with blessings; twice in this verse
will also reap bountifully.
7Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, blnot reluctantly or under compulsion, for bmGod loves a cheerful giver. 8And bnGod is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency
Or  all contentment
in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
9As it is written,

bp“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
10He who supplies bqseed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and brincrease the harvest of your righteousness. 11 bsYou will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which btthrough us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12For the ministry of this service is not only supplying buthe needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13By their approval of this service, bvthey
Or you
will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your bxconfession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,
14while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 byThanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

Galatians 2:10

10Only, they asked us to remember the poor, bzthe very thing I was eager to do.

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