Everyone must appear with a gift as he is able, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you.
Parallel translations
- WEB Every man shall give as he is able, according to Yahweh your God’s blessing which he has given you.
- KJV Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.
- NKJV Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.
- NASB Everyone shall give as he is able, in accordance with the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.
- NLT All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.
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
Each man was to give as he was able, in proportion to God's blessing on him. Giving was to match what God had provided, not a fixed amount.
Overview
Rather than a uniform sum, the offering was scaled to each worshiper's God-given prosperity. This made worship both accessible and genuinely sacrificial for all. The principle of proportionate, grateful giving carries directly into the New Testament, where believers give as God has prospered them, freely and cheerfully.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Cor 9:6–7Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
- 2 Cor 8:12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
- Mark 12:41–44As Jesus was sitting opposite the treasury, He watched the crowd putting money into it. And many rich people put in large amounts.
- Deut 16:10And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you,
- Lev 27:8But if the one making the vow is too poor to pay the valuation, he is to present the person before the priest, who shall set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.
- Ezra 2:63The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 16:17 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.