Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB Every man shall give as he is able, according to Yahweh your God’s blessing which he has given you.
- BSB Everyone must appear with a gift as he is able, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you.
- 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 9:6–7But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
- 2 Cor 8:12For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
- Mark 12:41–44And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
- Deut 16:10And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
- Lev 27:8But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.
- Ezra 2:63And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with 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.