The Collection for Christians in Jerusalem
1 Now lit is superfluous for me to write to you about mthe ministry for the saints, 2 for I know your readiness, nof which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready osince last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. 3 But pI am sending1 the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, qas I said you would be. 4 Otherwise, if some Macedonians rcome with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident. 5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the sgift2 you have promised, so that it may be ready tas a willing gift, unot as an exaction.3
The Cheerful Giver
6 The point is this: vwhoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully4 will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, wnot reluctantly or under compulsion, for xGod loves a cheerful giver. 8 And yGod is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency5 in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written,
z“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
10 He who supplies aseed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and bincrease the harvest of your righteousness. 11 cYou will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which dthrough us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying ethe needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, fthey6 will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your gconfession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 hThanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Practical Warnings
1 My son, if you have put up esecurity for your neighbor,
have egiven your pledge for a stranger,
2 if you are fsnared in the words of your mouth,
caught in the words of your mouth,
3 then do this, my son, and save yourself,
for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
go, hasten,1 and gplead urgently with your neighbor.
4 hGive your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,2
ilike a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 jGo to kthe ant, O lsluggard;
consider her ways, and mbe wise.
7 nWithout having any chief,
oofficer, or ruler,
8 she prepares her bread pin summer
and qgathers her food in harvest.
9 rHow long will you lie there, lO sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 sA little sleep, a little slumber,
ta little sfolding of the hands to rest,
11 uand poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
12 vA worthless person, a wicked man,
goes about with wcrooked speech,
13 xwinks with his eyes, signals3 with his feet,
points with his finger,
14 with yperverted heart zdevises evil,
continually asowing discord;
15 therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
16 There are dsix things that the Lord hates,
dseven that are an abomination to him:
17 ehaughty eyes, fa lying tongue,
and ghands that shed innocent blood,
18 ha heart that devises wicked plans,
ifeet that make haste to run to evil,
19 ja false witness who kbreathes out lies,
and one who asows discord among brothers.
Warnings Against Adultery
20 lMy son, keep your father’s commandment,
land forsake not your mother’s teaching.
21 mBind them on your heart always;
ntie them around your neck.
22 oWhen you walk, they4 will lead you;
owhen you lie down, they will pwatch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is qa lamp and the teaching a light,
and the rreproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 to preserve you from the evil woman,5
from the smooth tongue of sthe adulteress.6
25 tDo not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her ueyelashes;
26 for vthe price of a prostitute is only wa loaf of bread,7
but a married woman8 xhunts down a precious life.
27 Can a man carry yfire next to his zchest
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one awalk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched?
29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
none who touches her bwill go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
to csatisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
31 but dif he is caught, he will pay esevenfold;
he will give all the goods of his house.
32 He who commits adultery lacks sense;
he who does it destroys himself.
33 He will get wounds and dishonor,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34 For fjealousy makes a man furious,
and he will not spare when ghe takes revenge.
35 He will accept no compensation;
he will refuse though you multiply gifts.
