| The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. | The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. |
| The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. | The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers. |
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| A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. | Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. |
| Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. | 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. |
| If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. | If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. |
| But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. | Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. |
| And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. | They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. |
| Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. | Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. |
| Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation. | But Lord, you remain the same forever! Your throne continues from generation to generation. |
| And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. | In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. |
| And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. | And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. |
| But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. | But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! |
| Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. | Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. |
| Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he. | Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last. I alone am he. |
| Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. | Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. |
| But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. | But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. |
