Knox Bible

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And now, brethren, we must tell you about the grace which God has lavished upon the churches of Macedonia:✻

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how well they have stood the test of distress, how abundantly they have rejoiced over it, how abject is their poverty, and how the crown of all this has been a rich measure of generosity in them.✻

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I can testify that of their own accord they undertook to do all they could, and more than they could;

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they begged us, most urgently, to allow them the privilege of helping to supply the needs of the saints.

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And their gift went beyond our hopes; they gave their own services to the Lord, which meant, as God willed, to us;

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so that we were able to ask Titus to visit you again, and finish this gracious task he had begun, as part of his mission.✻

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You excel in so much already, in faith, in power of utterance, in knowledge of the truth, in devotion of every kind, in your loving treatment of us; may this gracious excellence be yours too.

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I say this, not to lay any injunction on you, but only to make sure that your charity rings true by telling you about the eagerness of others.

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(You do not need to be reminded how gracious our Lord Jesus Christ was; how he impoverished himself for your sakes, when he was so rich, so that you might become rich through his poverty),

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I am only giving you my advice, then, in this matter; you can claim that as your due, since it was you who led the way, not only in acting, but in proposing to act, as early as last year.

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It remains for you now to complete your action; readiness of the will must be completed by deeds, as far as your means allow.

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We value a man’s readiness of will according to the means he has, not according to the means he might have, but has not;

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and there is no intention that others should be relieved at the price of your distress. No, a balance is to be struck,

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and what you can spare now is to make up for what they want; so that what they can spare may, in its turn, make up for your want, and thus the balance will be redressed.

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So we read in scripture, He who had gathered much had nothing left over, and he who had gathered little, no lack.✻

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I thank God for inspiring the heart of Titus, your representative, with the same eagerness.✻

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He has accepted our invitation; but indeed, of his own choice he was eager to visit you.

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And we are sending with him that brother of ours, who has won the praise of all the churches by his proclamation of the gospel;

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he, too, is the man whom the churches have appointed to be our companion in this gracious ministry of ours, to further the Lord’s glory and our own resolve.

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They were anxious that no suspicion should be aroused against us, with these great sums to handle;

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it is not only in the Lord’s sight, but in the sight of men, that we have to study our behaviour.

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And, to accompany these, we are sending a brother of whose eagerness we have had good proof, in many ways and upon many occasions; now he is more eager than ever, such is the confidence he feels in you.

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As for Titus, he is my partner and has shared my work among you; as for these brethren of ours, they are the envoys of the churches, the glory of Christ:

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give them proof, then, of your charity, and of the good reason we have to be proud of you, for all the churches to see.