2 Corinthians 9

₁I did not want to write to you about the money we are collecting for the believers in Jerusalem, but I will. ₂I know how much you want to help them and I boast about you to the congregations in the province of Macedonia. I know that you, in Achaia, have been ready to help since last year. They told the believers in Macedonia that you wanted to give, and then most of them also wanted to give. ₃I am sending Titus and the 2 other believers to you. They will help you get ready so that everyone can see that we were not wrong when we boasted about you. I have told you that we boasted, saying that you were ready last year.

₄If the other believers of Macedonia and I come to you and they see that you are not yet ready to give, then we will be ashamed. You will also be ashamed if the money is not ready. ₅That is why I thought it was important for me to ask Titus and the 2 other believers to go to you before we come. They can make sure that the money you have promised is ready when we come to you. And then you will also feel that it is a gift and not something you give because we say you must give it.

₆Remember that if someone sows a little bit, he will harvest a little bit. And if he sows a lot, he will harvest a lot. ₇Each one must decide in his heart how much he should give. It must not be difficult for him to give and he must not give because someone has told him that he must. Remember, God loves people who are happy when they give. ₈God can bless you and give you more than enough of everything. Then you will always have enough of the things that you need. And then you will also have more than enough to give to people who do not have enough. ₉In the Old_Testament it is written:

₁₀God is the One who gives seed to the person who sows and He gives them food to eat. He will also give you seeds and your seeds will become more. If you do what God wants, He will let the good things you do become more and more. ₁₁God will give you enough of everything so that you will always want to give to other people. The believers in Jerusalem will thank God when we give them the money that you have collected.

₁₂When we give the believers in Jerusalem the money that you have collected, they will have enough to live from. Then the other believers will also thank God more and more. ₁₃If you give this money to the believers in Jerusalem, then you have passed the test and the believers will praise God because you show that you obey the Good_News of Christ and that you believe in Him. It will show that you feel sorry for the church in Jerusalem and all the congregations and it will glorify the name of God. ₁₄And when the believers in Jerusalem pray for you, they will long for you because they see that God has given you his grace, and He did not hold anything back. ₁₅We thank God for his great gift. It is so great that no one can explain how big it is.