2 COR 8:5 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And not as we hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us, by the will of God.

UST Further, they did even more than what we had expected. They dedicated themselves primarily to serving the Lord Jesus and then also to serving us. That is just what God wants.

BSB And not [only] [did they do] as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, through [the] will of God.

BLB And not only as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, by the will of God.

AICNT and not as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us by the will of God,

OEB And that, not only in the way we had expected; but first they gave themselves to the Lord, and to us also, in accordance with God’s will.

WEBBE This was not as we had expected, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us through the will of God.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET And they did this not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

LSV and not according as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the LORD, and to us, through the will of God,

FBV They didn't just do what we hoped they would do, but they gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us, as God wanted them to do.

TCNT And they did not do this in the way we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us by the will of God.

T4T I thought that they would give only a little of their money, but they did much more than that. First, they told the Lord Jesus that they wanted to do what pleases him. After that, they told me that they wanted to do whatever I thought was good for them to do, because they were sure that would be what God wanted them to do.

LEB and not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, by the will of God.

BBE And going even farther than our hope, they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us after the purpose of God.

Moff They have done more than I expected; they gave themselves to the Lord, to begin with, and then (for so God willed it) they put themselves at my disposal.

Wymth They not only did this, as we had expected, but first of all in obedience to God's will they gave their own selves to the Lord and to us.

ASV and this, not as we had hoped, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us through the will of God.

DRA And not as we hoped, but they gave their own selves first to the Lord, then to us by the will of God:

YLT and not according as we expected, but themselves they did give first to the Lord, and to us, through the will of God,

Drby And not according as we hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, and to us by [fn]God's will.

8.5 Elohim

RV and this, not as we had hoped, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us by the will of God.

SLT And not as we hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, and to us by the will of God.

Wbstr And this they did , not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us by the will of God:

KJB-1769 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.

KJB-1611 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gaue their owne selues to the Lord, and vnto vs, by the will of God.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps And this they dyd not as we loked for: but gaue their owne selues first to the Lorde, and after vnto vs by the wyll of God.
(And this they did not as we looked for: but gave their own selves first to the Lord, and after unto us by the will of God.)

Gnva And this they did, not as we looked for: but gaue their owne selues, first to the Lord, and after vnto vs by the will of God,
(And this they did, not as we looked for: but gave their own selves, first to the Lord, and after unto us by the will of God, )

Cvdl And not as we loked for, but gaue ouer them selues first to the LODRE, and afterwarde vnto vs by ye wyl of God,
(And not as we looked for, but gave over themselves first to the LODRE, and afterward unto us by ye/you_all will of God,)

TNT And this they did not as we loked for: but gave their awne selves fyrst to the lorde and after vnto vs by the will of God:
(And this they did not as we looked for: but gave their own selves first to the lord and after unto us by the will of God: )

Wycl And not as we hopiden, but thei yauen hem silf first to the Lord, aftirward to vs bi the wille of God.
(And not as we hopedn, but they gave himself first to the Lord, afterward to us by the will of God.)

Luth Und nicht, wie wir hofften, sondern ergaben sich selbst zuerst dem HErr’s und danach uns durch den Willen Gottes,
(And not, as/like we/us hofften, rather ergaben itself/yourself/themselves himself/itself first to_him LORD’s and after/thereafter/then us/to_us/ourselves through the Will God’s,)

ClVg Et non sicut speravimus, sed semetipsos dederunt primum Domino, deinde nobis per voluntatem Dei,[fn]
(And not/no like I_hopedmus, but themselves they_gave first Master, then/next us through will of_God, )

8.5 Primum Domino se emendantes, deinde fratribus sua offerentes. Aliter non erat accipiendum, quia munera excæcant oculos, et jura auctoritatis inclinant. Qui vero dant ne arguantur, fructum dandi non habent.

8.5 Primum Master himself emendantes, then/next brothers his_own offering. Aliter not/no was to_be_accepted, because gifts excæcant the_eyes, and rights authoritatis incline/leannt. Who indeed/however dant not arguantur, fruit dandi not/no they_have.

UGNT καὶ οὐ καθὼς ἠλπίσαμεν, ἀλλ’ ἑαυτοὺς ἔδωκαν, πρῶτον τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ ἡμῖν, διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ.
(kai ou kathōs aʸlpisamen, all’ heautous edōkan, prōton tōi Kuriōi, kai haʸmin, dia thelaʸmatos Theou.)

SBL-GNT καὶ οὐ καθὼς ἠλπίσαμεν ἀλλʼ ἑαυτοὺς ἔδωκαν πρῶτον τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἡμῖν διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ,
(kai ou kathōs aʸlpisamen allʼ heautous edōkan prōton tōi kuriōi kai haʸmin dia thelaʸmatos theou,)

RP-GNT καὶ οὐ καθὼς ἠλπίσαμεν, ἀλλ' ἑαυτοὺς ἔδωκαν πρῶτον τῷ κυρίῳ, καὶ ἡμῖν διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ
(kai ou kathōs aʸlpisamen, all' heautous edōkan prōton tōi kuriōi, kai haʸmin dia thelaʸmatos theou)

TC-GNT καὶ οὐ καθὼς ἠλπίσαμεν, [fn]ἀλλ᾽ ἑαυτοὺς ἔδωκαν πρῶτον τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ ἡμῖν διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ
(kai ou kathōs aʸlpisamen, all heautous edōkan prōton tōi Kuriōi, kai haʸmin dia thelaʸmatos Theou )

8:5 αλλ ¦ αλλα NA²⁷

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 8:1–15: Be generous as you are able

The believers in Corinth had previously decided to collect money to send to the poor believers in Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:1–4). In this section, Paul spoke of the generous gift of money from the believers in Macedonia and their attitude in giving (2 Corinthians 8:1–5). Paul hoped that the believers in Corinth would follow that example of giving.

Then Paul told them that Titus was coming to them to help collect the money (8:6). Paul encouraged them to give generously just as they did other things well (8:7). He indicated that he wanted to see that they were sincere in their promise to help the poor with this gift (8:8). He further encouraged them by using the example of Jesus giving (8:9).

Then Paul advised them how best to collect the money for the gift (8:10–11). Then he explained that what matters is giving according to what each person has (8:12). The goal in giving is equality, not making oneself poor for the sake of others (8:13–15).

Other examples for this section heading are:

Encouragement to Be Generous (NRSV)

A Call to Generous Giving (NLT)

Complete^(plur) the collection for the poor believers in Jerusalem

8:5a

And not only did they do as we expected,

And they gave differently than we^(excl) expected,
We did not expect them to do this:

And not only did they do as we expected: Paul was surprised by their dedication to God (8:5b) and to himself and the others (8:5c) in this matter. He probably also expected a smaller gift because they were so poor (8:2b). Other ways to translate this clause are:

they did it differently than we expected

they gave in a way we did not expect (NCV)

we did not expect them to do this

8:5b

but they gave themselves first to the Lord

namely, they first decided to always do what the Lord wanted them to do,
they first completely dedicated themselves to serve the Lord Jesus.

but: There is contrast between what Paul expected them to do and what they did. 8:5a indicates that they did not do as Paul expected. So in some languages it is more natural to connect 8:5b to 8:5a without contrast. For example:

First they gave themselves to the Lord (GNT)

they gave themselves first to the Lord: This phrase refers to devoting themselves to God and to serving him. The believers decided to follow God with their whole being in preparation to give. This phrase does not refer to the first act of believing in Jesus to be saved. Other ways to translate this are:

it began by their offering themselves to the Lord (NJB)

they made a complete dedication of themselves first to the Lord (JBP)

first they entrusted their lives to the Lord

they first devoted their lives to doing the Lord’s will

the Lord: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Lord means “the one in authority over (something)” or “master.” It refers to someone greater in status or power. The word Lord probably refers to Jesus here, because 8:5c has the word “God” rather than the word “he.” In some languages it is more natural to include the name “Jesus” here. For example:

Lord Jesus

ruler Jesus

See how you translated this word in 4:5 or 6:17.

8:5c

and then to us, because it was the will of God.

and then followed us as God wanted them to do.
Then/Next they dedicated themselves to following us in God’s will.

and then to us: The words “they gave themselves” are implied but are not repeated here. In some languages it is more natural to repeat some or all of those words. For example:

and then they gave themselves to us

These words have a similar meaning to 8:5b. The believers decided to follow Paul as their leader in their faith.

because it was the will of God: This phrase refers to doing something according to what God would want them to do. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

by the will of God (RSV)

just as God wanted them to do (NLT)

under/through submission to God

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

οὐ καθὼς ἠλπίσαμεν, ἀλλ’

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί οὒ καθώς ἠλπίσαμεν ἀλλʼ ἑαυτούς ἔδωκαν πρῶτον τῷ Κυρίῳ καί ἡμῖν διά θελήματος Θεοῦ)

Here Paul is implying that the Macedonians did more than Paul and his fellow workers had hoped, not that they did less. If this clause would imply that the Macedonians did less, you could use a form that implies that they did more. Alternate translation: [while we had hoped for something, they did more:] or [doing more than we had hoped,]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἑαυτοὺς ἔδωκαν, πρῶτον

Here Paul speaks as if the Macedonians were gifts that they themselves gave to the Lord and to us. He means that the Macedonians chose to completely serve and honor the Lord and us. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [they first devoted themselves] or [they chose first to be servants]

πρῶτον & καὶ

first & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί οὒ καθώς ἠλπίσαμεν ἀλλʼ ἑαυτούς ἔδωκαν πρῶτον τῷ Κυρίῳ καί ἡμῖν διά θελήματος Θεοῦ)

Here, the words first and then could indicate what is: (1) more and less important. Alternate translation: [primarily … and secondarily] (2) first and second in sequence. Alternate translation: [first … and second]

καὶ ἡμῖν

Here, the phrase and then could introduce: (1) what comes after what they first did. Alternate translation: [and after that to us] (2) the second part of what they first did. Paul implies that what comes after what they first did is giving money. Alternate translation: [and to us before they gave money]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

καὶ ἡμῖν

Here Paul is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from earlier in the sentence if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: [and then they gave themselves to us]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

ἑαυτοὺς ἔδωκαν, πρῶτον τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ ἡμῖν, διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ

Here, the phrase by the will of God could modify: (1) how the Corinthians both gave themselves to the Lord and to us. Alternate translation: [by the will of God they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us] (2) just how the Corinthians gave themselves to us. Alternate translation: [they first gave themselves to the Lord and then, by the will of God, to us]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of will, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [as God wanted] or [which is what God desires]

Parallel 2 COR 8:5

Section 8:1–15: Be generous as you are able

8:5a

8:5b

8:5c

Parallel 2 COR 8:5