For we live by believing and not by seeing. | For we walk by faith, not by sight. |
You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” | Each person should give as much as he has decided in his heart, not with reluctance or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. |
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For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. | Now this Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. |
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. | Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercy and the God of all consolation. He consoles us in all our afflictions and thereby enables us to console others in their tribulations, offering them the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. |
Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. | Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from anything that can defile flesh or spirit, and thereby make our holiness perfect in the fear of God. |
That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. | For this reason, I rejoice when I endure weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and distress for the sake of Christ. For it is when I am weak that I am strong. |
Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. | As long as the goodwill is present, the gift will be acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. |
And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. | And God is able to enrich you with an abundance of every grace, so that, with all of your needs provided for, you may be able to produce a surplus of good works. |
Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. | Enriched in every way, you will be able to practice all your acts of generosity, which, through our intervention, will result in thanksgiving to God. |
For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. | The one who provides seed for sowing and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. |