2 Corinthians 9:6-15

9:6 My point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously ¹  will also reap generously. 9:7 Each one of you should give ²  just as he has decided in his heart, ³  not reluctantly ⁴  or under compulsion, ⁵  because God loves a cheerful giver. 9:8 And God is able to make all grace overflow ⁶  to you so that because you have enough ⁷  of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow ⁸  in every good work. 9:9 Just as it is written, “He ⁹  has scattered widely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever.” ¹⁰  9:10 Now God ¹¹  who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your supply of seed and will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow. 9:11 You will be enriched in every way so that you may be generous on every occasion, ¹²  which is producing through us thanksgiving to God, 9:12 because the service of this ministry is not only providing for ¹³  the needs of the saints but is also overflowing with many thanks to God. 9:13 Through the evidence ¹⁴  of this service ¹⁵  they will glorify God because of your obedience to your confession in the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your sharing ¹⁶  with them and with everyone. 9:14 And in their prayers on your behalf they long for you because of the extraordinary grace God has shown to you. ¹⁷  9:15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! ¹⁸ 

¹ tn Or “bountifully”; so also in the next occurrence in the verse.

² tn Or “must do.” The words “of you” and “should give” are not in the Greek text, which literally reads, “Each one just as he has decided in his heart.” The missing words are an ellipsis; these or similar phrases must be supplied for the English reader.

³ tn Or “in his mind.”

⁴ tn Or “not from regret”; Grk “not out of grief.”

⁵ tn Or “not out of a sense of duty”; Grk “from necessity.”

⁶ tn Or “abound.”

⁷ tn Or “so that by having enough.” The Greek participle can be translated as a participle of cause (“because you have enough”) or means (“by having enough”).

⁸ tn Or “abound.”

⁹ sn He in the quotation refers to the righteous person.

¹⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 112:9.

¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn Grk “in every way for every generosity,” or “he will always make you rich enough to be generous at all times” (L&N 57.29).

¹³ tn Or “not only supplying.”

¹⁴ tn Or “proof,” or perhaps “testing” (NRSV).

¹⁵ tn Or “ministry.”

¹⁶ tn Or “your partnership”; Grk “your fellowship.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “the extraordinary grace of God to you”; the point is that God has given or shown grace to the Corinthians.

¹⁸ tn “Let us thank God for his gift which cannot be described with words” (L&N 33.202).