For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
Parallel translations
- WEB For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have.
- KJV For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
- ESV For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
- NKJV For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.
- NASB For if the willingness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
- NLT Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God accepts a gift according to what a person has, not according to what they lack. Acceptable giving is measured by willingness and proportion, not absolute amount.
Overview
Paul lays down a liberating principle of Christian giving. The Lord does not demand what we cannot give; He looks at the eager heart and the proportion of our means. This protects the poor from despair and the rich from pride, echoing Jesus' commendation of the widow's small but wholehearted offering.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Mark 12:42–44Then one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius.
- 2 Cor 9:7Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
- Exod 35:29So all the men and women of the Israelites whose hearts prompted them brought a freewill offering to the LORD for all the work that the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do.
- Luke 21:1–4Then Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury,
- Exod 35:21–22And everyone whose heart stirred him and whose spirit prompted him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its services, and for the holy garments.
- Exod 35:5Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Let everyone whose heart is willing bring an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze;
- 1 Pet 4:10As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.
- Exod 25:2“Tell the Israelites to bring Me an offering. You are to receive My offering from every man whose heart compels him.
- Mark 14:7–8The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.
- Luke 16:10Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
- Luke 12:47–48That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.
- 1 Chr 29:3–18Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give for it my personal treasures of gold and silver, over and above all that I have provided for this holy temple:
- 2 Chr 6:8But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well to have this in your heart.
- Luke 7:44–46And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give Me water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
- Prov 19:22The desire of a man is loving devotion; better to be poor than a liar.
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Christ at the center
In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 8:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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