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2 Corinthians 9:13
ESV 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 contribution for them and for all others,
NIV Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
NASB Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all,
CSB Because of the proof provided by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone.
NLT As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.
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;
NKJV while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men,

What does 2 Corinthians 9:13 mean?

Scripture makes a case for why Christian charity matters on several different levels. In this particular passage, Paul is writing to the Christians in Corinth about giving generously to meet the needs of suffering Jewish believers in Jerusalem. Despite that specific audience, Paul's teaching here has a broad application to Christians of any time and place who give to meet the needs of others.

Christian giving allows believers to participate in God's work of freely distributing goods to the poor and increasing thankfulness to God in the world. In addition, giving can also create a powerful connection between those who give and those who receive.

At the time Paul wrote these words, connection between Jewish Christians in Jerusalem and the growing population of non-Jewish Christians—referred to as either "Gentiles" or "Greeks"—was frayed. In some cases, Jewish believers who had grown up under the law, as God's chosen and set apart people, struggled with the transition to welcoming Gentiles recently converted from paganism. Paul saw the need of these Jewish Christians as an opportunity for Gentile Christians to build connection.

If the Jewish Christians "approve of this service," meaning that they accept the gift from the Greek Christians in good faith, they will glorify God. Specifically, the Jewish Christians will see that their Gentile siblings in Christ believe in the same gospel of Jesus, and that they care for believers besides themselves. In other words, the generous gift of the Corinthian believers will be evidence that Christ and the love of Christ are real in them, something the Jewish Christians needed to understand and accept.
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