And Abram gave him ^ya tenth of everything.

30 ⁱ“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord. 31 If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. 32 And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that ^jpass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to the Lord.

18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for ^rit is he who gives you power to get wealth, ^sthat he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. ^xBut you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ ^yIn your tithes and contributions. 9 ^zYou are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 ^aBring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby ^bput me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open ^cthe windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke ^dthe devourer¹ for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then ^eall nations will call you blessed, for you will be ^fa land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

Giving to the Needy

1 “Beware of ^rpracticing your righteousness before other people in order ^sto be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 ^t“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ^ube praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have ^vreceived their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. ^wAnd your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 ^x“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ^ymoth and rust¹ destroy and where thieves ^zbreak in and steal, 20 ^xbut lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be ^pperfect, go, ^qsell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^rtreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

23 ^d“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^eyou tithe mint and dill and ^fcumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: ^gjustice and mercy and faithfulness. ^hThese you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

The Parable of the Talents

14 ^p“For ^qit will be like a man ^rgoing on a journey, who called his servants¹ and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five ^stalents,² to another two, to another one, ^tto each according to his ability. Then he ^rwent away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and ^udug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now ^vafter a long time the master of those servants came and ^wsettled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^xfaithful servant.^{3 y}You have been faithful over a little; ^zI will set you over much. Enter into ^athe joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be ^ba hard man, reaping ^cwhere you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, ^dyou have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You ^ewicked and ^eslothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 ^fFor to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

16 And he told them a parable, saying, ^w“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ^x‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my ^ybarns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up ^zfor many years; relax, ^aeat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ^b‘Fool! ^zThis night ^cyour soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, ^dwhose will they be?’ 21 So is the one ^ewho lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

42 And the Lord said, “Who then is ^mthe faithful and ^mwise ⁿmanager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

1 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had ^ja manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your ^kmanagement, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures¹ of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures² of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his ^lshrewdness. For ^mthe sons of this world³ are ^lmore shrewd in dealing with their own generation than ⁿthe sons of light. 9 And I tell you, ^omake friends for yourselves by means of ^punrighteous wealth,⁴ so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

10 ^q“One who is ^rfaithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in ^sthat which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 ^pNo servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

44 And all who believed were together and ^fhad all things in common. 45 And ^fthey were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, ^gattending the temple ^htogether and ⁱbreaking bread in their homes, they received their food ^jwith glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and ^khaving favor with all the people. And the Lord ^ladded to their number ^mday by day those who ⁿwere being saved.

Ananias and Sapphira

1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife’s knowledge ^vhe kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and ^wlaid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has ^xSatan filled your heart to lie ^yto the Holy Spirit and ^zto keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but ^ato God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he ^bfell down and breathed his last. And ^cgreat fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and ^dwrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you¹ sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together ^eto test ^fthe Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And ^ggreat fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

24 ^rThe God who made the world and everything in it, being ^sLord of heaven and earth, ^tdoes not live in temples made by man,¹ 25 nor is he served by human hands, ^uas though he needed anything, since he himself ^vgives to all mankind ^wlife and breath and everything.

35 In all things ⁱI have shown you that ^jby working hard in this way we must ^khelp the weak and ^lremember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed ^mto give than to receive.’”

6 We know that ^wour old self^{1 x}was crucified with him in order that ^ythe body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For ^zone who has died ^ahas been set free² from sin. 8 Now ^bif we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that ^cChrist, being raised from the dead, will never die again; ^ddeath no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, ^eonce for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves ^fdead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Let not ^gsin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 ^hDo not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but ⁱpresent yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For ^jsin ^kwill have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? ^lAre we to sin ^mbecause we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves ⁿto anyone as obedient slaves,³ you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But ^othanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the ^pstandard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, ^qhaving been set free from sin, ^rhave become slaves of righteousness. 19 ^sI am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For ^tjust as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members ^uas slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 ^vFor when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 ^wBut what fruit were you getting at that time from the things ^xof which you are now ashamed? ^yFor the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you ^zhave been set free from sin and ^ahave become slaves of God, ^bthe fruit you get leads to sanctification and ^cits end, eternal life.

A Living Sacrifice

1 ^zI appeal to you therefore, brothers,¹ by the mercies of God, ^ato present your bodies ^bas a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.² 2 ^cDo not be conformed to this world,³ but be transformed by ^dthe renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^ediscern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.⁴

The Ministry of Apostles

1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and ⁿstewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

19 Or ^pdo you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? ^qYou are not your own, 20 ^rfor you were bought with a price. ^sSo glorify God in your body.

Spiritual Gifts

1 Now ^mconcerning¹ spiritual gifts,² brothers,³ I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that ⁿwhen you were pagans ^oyou were led astray to ^pmute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that ^qno one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is ^raccursed!” and ^sno one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

4 Now ^tthere are varieties of gifts, but ^uthe same Spirit; 5 and ^vthere are varieties of service, but ^uthe same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is ^uthe same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 ^wTo each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of ^xwisdom, and to another the utterance of ^yknowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another ^zfaith by the same Spirit, to another ^agifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another ^bthe working of miracles, to another ^cprophecy, to another ^dthe ability to distinguish between spirits, to another ^evarious kinds of tongues, to another ^fthe interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, ^gwho apportions to each one individually ^has he wills.

One Body with Many Members

12 For just as ⁱthe body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, ^jso it is with Christ. 13 For ^kin one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—^lJews or Greeks, slaves⁴ or free—and ^mall were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, ⁿGod arranged the members in the body, each one of them, ^oas he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts,⁵ yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, ^pall rejoice together.

27 Now ^qyou are the body of Christ and individually ^rmembers of it. 28 And ^sGod has appointed in the church first ^tapostles, second ^uprophets, third teachers, then ^vmiracles, then ^wgifts of healing, ^xhelping, ^yadministrating, and ^vvarious kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But ^zearnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

The Collection for the Saints

1 Now concerning^{1 e}the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On ^fthe first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, ^gas he may prosper, ^hso that there will be no collecting when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send ⁱthose whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

Encouragement to Give Generously

1 We want you to know, brothers,¹ about the grace of God that has been ^hgiven among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and ⁱtheir extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave ^jaccording to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly ^kfor the favor² of taking part in ^lthe relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they ^mgave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, ⁿwe urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you ^othis act of grace. 7 But as ^pyou excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you³—^qsee that you excel in this act of grace also.

8 ^rI say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ^sthough he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 10 And in this matter ^tI give my judgment: ^uthis benefits you, who ^va year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. 11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. 12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable ^waccording to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply ^xtheir need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written, ^y“Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”