2 Corinthians 9–10

The Collection for Christians in Jerusalem

9Now ^lit is superfluous for me to write to you about ^mthe ministry for the saints, ²for I know your readiness, ⁿof which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready ^osince last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. ³But ^pI am sending¹ the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, ^qas I said you would be. ⁴Otherwise, if some Macedonians ^rcome 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 ^sgift² you have promised, so that it may be ready ^tas a willing gift, ^unot as an exaction.³

The Cheerful Giver

⁶The point is this: ^vwhoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully⁴ will also reap bountifully. ⁷Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, ^wnot reluctantly or under compulsion, for ^xGod loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And ^yGod is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency⁵ in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. ⁹As it is written,

^z“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;

his righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰He who supplies ^aseed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and ^bincrease the harvest of your righteousness. ^11cYou will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which ^dthrough us will produce thanksgiving to God. ¹²For the ministry of this service is not only supplying ^ethe needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. ¹³By their approval of this service, ^fthey⁶ will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your ^gconfession 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. ^15hThanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

Paul Defends His Ministry

10ⁱI, Paul, myself entreat you, by the ^jmeekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— ²I beg of you ^kthat when I am present I may not have to show ^lboldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. ³For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. ⁴For the ^mweapons of ⁿour warfare are not of the flesh but have ^odivine power ^pto destroy strongholds. ⁵We destroy arguments and ^qevery lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to ^robey Christ, ^6sbeing ready to punish every disobedience, ^twhen your obedience is complete.

^7uLook at what is before your eyes. ^vIf anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, let him remind himself that just as ^whe is Christ’s, ^xso also are we. ⁸For even if I boast a little too much of ^your authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. ⁹I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. ¹⁰For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but ^zhis bodily presence is weak, and ^ahis speech of no account.” ¹¹Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. ¹²Not that we dare to classify or ^bcompare ourselves with some of those who ^care commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are ^dwithout understanding.

¹³But we will not boast ^ebeyond limits, but will ^fboast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, ^gto reach even to you. ¹⁴For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. ^hFor we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. ¹⁵We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that ⁱas your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be ^jgreatly enlarged, ¹⁶so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. ¹⁷“Let ^kthe one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” ¹⁸For it is ^lnot the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one ^mwhom the Lord commends.