2 Corinthians / Chapter 9

2 Corinthians 9

15 verses • SBL Greek New Testament

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Paul continues his appeal regarding the collection, explaining that he is sending the brothers ahead to Corinth to ensure the gift is ready before Paul arrives with the Macedonians, so that neither Paul nor the Corinthians will be embarrassed. He then develops a theology of generous giving through the agricultural metaphor of sowing and reaping: whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully. Each person should give as they have decided in their heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. God is able to make all grace abound so that believers always have enough of everything and can abound in every good work. The chapter climaxes with doxology: the collection will produce thanksgiving to God, demonstrate the Corinthians' obedience to the gospel, and bind the churches together in mutual prayer and love. Paul closes with the exclamation, 'Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!'

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The phrase 'God loves a cheerful giver' (v. 7) is one of the most widely quoted verses in the Bible, drawn from Proverbs 22:8 (LXX). The Greek hilaros ('cheerful, glad, joyful') is the root of the English 'hilarious' — the giver God delights in is not merely willing but genuinely joyful. Paul's theology of giving is remarkably non-coercive: each person gives 'as they have decided in their heart' (v. 7), and God's grace is the source of both the ability and the willingness to give. The closing exclamation about God's 'indescribable gift' (v. 15) brings the entire collection discourse to a Christological climax — the ultimate gift behind all giving is Christ himself.

Translation Friction

Some scholars regard chapter 9 as a separate letter from chapter 8, noting the apparent fresh beginning in 9:1 ('Now it is superfluous for me to write to you'). We render the text as continuous. The phrase 'indescribable gift' (v. 15) is grammatically ambiguous — it could refer to Christ, to the grace of giving, or to the whole economy of salvation. We render the Greek without specifying.

Connections

The sowing-reaping imagery connects to Proverbs 11:24-25, Hosea 10:12, and Galatians 6:7-9. The 'cheerful giver' alludes to Proverbs 22:8 (LXX). The abundant provision of God connects to Psalm 112:9 (quoted in v. 9). The collection's role in producing thanksgiving connects to 1:11 and 4:15. The 'indescribable gift' forms an inclusio with 8:9 (the grace of Christ).

2 Corinthians 9:1

Περὶ μὲν γὰρ τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους περισσόν μοί ἐστιν τὸ γράφειν ὑμῖν·

Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints,

KJV For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase perisson moi estin ('it is superfluous, unnecessary, excessive for me') is a rhetorical device (praeteritio) — by saying he does not need to write about it, Paul proceeds to write about it at length. The word diakonia ('ministry, service') elevates the collection from a mere financial transfer to an act of Christian service.
2 Corinthians 9:2

οἶδα γὰρ τὴν προθυμίαν ὑμῶν ἣν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν καυχῶμαι Μακεδόσιν, ὅτι Ἀχαΐα παρεσκεύασται ἀπὸ πέρυσι, καὶ τὸ ὑμῶν ζῆλος ἠρέθισεν τοὺς πλείονας.

I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians. I told them that Achaia was ready a year ago, and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.

KJV For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Paul reveals that he used the Corinthians' eagerness to motivate the Macedonians (just as he now uses the Macedonians' generosity to motivate the Corinthians). The verb ērethisen ('stirred up, provoked, stimulated') indicates healthy mutual encouragement between churches.
2 Corinthians 9:3

ἔπεμψα δὲ τοὺς ἀδελφούς, ἵνα μὴ τὸ καύχημα ἡμῶν τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν κενωθῇ ἐν τῷ μέρει τούτῳ, ἵνα καθὼς ἔλεγον παρεσκευασμένοι ἦτε,

But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be.

KJV Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Paul is candid about his concern: if the Corinthians are not ready when the Macedonians arrive, his boasting will be exposed as hollow (kenōthē, 'be emptied, be made vain'). The advance delegation of Titus and the brothers (8:16-24) serves a practical purpose: to ensure the collection is complete before Paul arrives.
2 Corinthians 9:4

μή πως ἐὰν ἔλθωσιν σὺν ἐμοὶ Μακεδόνες καὶ εὕρωσιν ὑμᾶς ἀπαρασκευάστους καταισχυνθῶμεν ἡμεῖς, ἵνα μὴ λέγω ὑμεῖς, ἐν τῇ ὑποστάσει ταύτῃ.

Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we would be humiliated — to say nothing of you — in this undertaking.

KJV Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The parenthetical 'to say nothing of you' (hina mē legō hymeis) is wryly diplomatic — Paul acknowledges that the Corinthians' embarrassment would be even greater than his own. The word hypostasei ('undertaking, confidence, substance') can mean 'confident boasting' or 'project/enterprise.'
2 Corinthians 9:5

ἀναγκαῖον οὖν ἡγησάμην παρακαλέσαι τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἵνα προέλθωσιν εἰς ὑμᾶς καὶ προκαταρτίσωσιν τὴν προεπηγγελμένην εὐλογίαν ὑμῶν, ταύτην ἑτοίμην εἶναι οὕτως ὡς εὐλογίαν καὶ μὴ ὡς πλεονεξίαν.

So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance the generous gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an extortion.

KJV Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Paul uses eulogia ('blessing, generous gift, bounty') for the collection — a word that frames giving as blessing rather than obligation. The contrast between eulogia ('blessing, gift') and pleonexia ('greed, covetousness, extortion') reveals Paul's concern that the collection not appear coerced. The giving must be a blessing from the heart, not an extraction.
2 Corinthians 9:6

Τοῦτο δέ, ὁ σπείρων φειδομένως φειδομένως καὶ θερίσει, καὶ ὁ σπείρων ἐπ' εὐλογίαις ἐπ' εὐλογίαις καὶ θερίσει.

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

KJV But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The agricultural metaphor of sowing and reaping was proverbial in the ancient world (cf. Proverbs 11:24; Galatians 6:7). The phrase ep' eulogiais ('upon blessings, bountifully') literally means 'sowing on the basis of blessings' — generosity produces abundance. The symmetry of the sentence makes the principle self-evident.
  2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Proverbs 11:24. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.
2 Corinthians 9:7

ἕκαστος καθὼς προῄρηται τῇ καρδίᾳ, μὴ ἐκ λύπης ἢ ἐξ ἀνάγκης· ἱλαρὸν γὰρ δότην ἀγαπᾷ ὁ θεός.

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

KJV Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

ἱλαρός hilaros
"cheerful" — cheerful, glad, joyful, merry, gracious

Found only here in the New Testament. The word describes a disposition of glad willingness, not mere compliance. God's love for the cheerful giver means that the heart's attitude is more important than the amount given.

Translator Notes

  1. The verb proērētai ('has decided beforehand, has chosen freely') emphasizes deliberate, premeditated generosity. Two negatives frame the motive: not ek lypēs ('from grief, reluctantly') and not ex anangkēs ('from compulsion, under necessity'). The quotation 'God loves a cheerful giver' draws from Proverbs 22:8 (LXX). The word hilaros ('cheerful, glad, joyful') is the root of 'hilarious' — God delights in giving that flows from joy, not obligation.
  2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Proverbs 22:8. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
2 Corinthians 9:8

δυνατεῖ δὲ ὁ θεὸς πᾶσαν χάριν περισσεῦσαι εἰς ὑμᾶς, ἵνα ἐν παντὶ πάντοτε πᾶσαν αὐτάρκειαν ἔχοντες περισσεύητε εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθόν,

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

KJV And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The fourfold use of 'all/every' (pasan... panti... pantote... pasan... pan) emphasizes the comprehensiveness of God's provision. The word autarkeia ('sufficiency, self-sufficiency, contentment') was a Stoic virtue — having enough and needing no more. Paul transforms it: believers have autarkeia not through detachment but through God's abundant grace, which frees them for generosity.
2 Corinthians 9:9

καθὼς γέγραπται· ἐσκόρπισεν, ἔδωκεν τοῖς πένησιν, ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.

As it is written, "He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."

KJV As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Paul quotes Psalm 112:9 (LXX 111:9), which describes the righteous person's generosity. The verb eskorpisen ('scattered, distributed freely') suggests lavish, widespread giving. The 'righteousness' (dikaiosynē) that 'endures forever' is expressed through generous action — in the Psalm's logic, generosity is righteousness made visible.
  2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Psalms 112:9. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.
2 Corinthians 9:10

ὁ δὲ ἐπιχορηγῶν σπόρον τῷ σπείροντι καὶ ἄρτον εἰς βρῶσιν χορηγήσει καὶ πληθυνεῖ τὸν σπόρον ὑμῶν καὶ αὐξήσει τὰ γενήματα τῆς δικαιοσύνης ὑμῶν.

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

KJV Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Paul draws on Isaiah 55:10 and Hosea 10:12, combining the image of God as the one who supplies seed with the promise that he will multiply the harvest. The 'harvest of your righteousness' (ta genēmata tēs dikaiosynēs hymōn) connects generosity to righteousness as in the Psalm 112 quotation — giving produces a crop of righteous fruit.
  2. [TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Isaiah 55:10 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.
  3. [TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Hosea 10:12 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.
  4. [TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Psalm 112 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.
2 Corinthians 9:11

ἐν παντὶ πλουτιζόμενοι εἰς πᾶσαν ἁπλότητα, ἥτις κατεργάζεται δι' ἡμῶν εὐχαριστίαν τῷ θεῷ·

You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

KJV Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The theological circuit completes: God enriches believers so they can be generous, and their generosity produces thanksgiving to God. The word haplotēta ('generosity, simplicity, single-mindedness') indicates that enrichment is not for hoarding but for giving. The whole economy runs on grace and returns to God as praise.
2 Corinthians 9:12

ὅτι ἡ διακονία τῆς λειτουργίας ταύτης οὐ μόνον ἐστὶν προσαναπληροῦσα τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν ἁγίων ἀλλὰ καὶ περισσεύουσα διὰ πολλῶν εὐχαριστιῶν τῷ θεῷ.

For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.

KJV For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Paul uses two words for the collection: diakonia ('ministry, service') and leitourgia ('liturgical service, public duty'). The latter is a cultic term — the collection is an act of worship, not merely philanthropy. It has a double effect: it meets physical needs and produces spiritual thanksgiving.
2 Corinthians 9:13

διὰ τῆς δοκιμῆς τῆς διακονίας ταύτης δοξάζοντες τὸν θεὸν ἐπὶ τῇ ὑποταγῇ τῆς ὁμολογίας ὑμῶν εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἁπλότητι τῆς κοινωνίας εἰς αὐτοὺς καὶ εἰς πάντας,

By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your sharing with them and with all,

KJV Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The collection proves the sincerity of the Corinthians' confession (homologias). Paul links financial generosity to gospel fidelity: sharing material resources with fellow believers demonstrates that one's confession of Christ is not mere words but lived reality. The phrase eis autous kai eis pantas ('toward them and toward all') extends the scope of generosity beyond Jerusalem.
2 Corinthians 9:14

καὶ αὐτῶν δεήσει ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐπιποθούντων ὑμᾶς διὰ τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐφ' ὑμῖν.

By their petition for you, which long following you for the exceeding grace of God in you.

KJV And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The collection creates mutual affection: the Jerusalem saints will pray for the Corinthians and long for them. The relationship is no longer merely donor-to-recipient but sibling-to-sibling, bound together by the 'surpassing grace of God' (hyperballousan charin tou theou) that is visible in the Corinthians' generosity.
2 Corinthians 9:15

χάρις τῷ θεῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀνεκδιηγήτῳ αὐτοῦ δωρεᾷ.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

KJV Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The chapter and the entire collection discourse close with this doxological exclamation. The word anekdiēgētō ('indescribable, inexpressible, beyond words') appears only here in the New Testament. The 'gift' (dōrea) most likely refers to Christ himself — the gift behind all gifts, the grace that enables all generosity. Paul began the collection appeal with the grace of Christ (8:9) and ends with it here, framing the entire discussion as a response to the supreme gift of God in the gospel.
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