RKJNT(i)
1 And now, brethren, we want you to know of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
2 For during a great test of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty overflowed in a wealth of liberality.
3 For I bear witness that they gave according to their ability, yea, and beyond their ability, and of their own accord;
4 Begging us most insistently that we would allow them the privilege of taking part in this service to the saints.
5 And this they did, not as we expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and to us by the will of God.
6 So we urged Titus, since he had already begun, that he would also finish this gracious work among you.
7 Therefore, as you excel in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all earnestness, and in your love for us, see that you excel in this gracious work as well.
8 I do not speak this as a commandment, but to use the zeal of others to test the sincerity of your own love.
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that through his poverty you might become rich.