2 Corinthians 9:3

THE MESSAGE

Now I'm sending the brothers to make sure you're ready, as I said you would be, so my bragging won't turn out to be just so much hot air. If some Macedonians and I happened to drop in on you and found you weren't prepared, we'd all be pretty red-faced—you and us—for acting so sure of ourselves. So to make sure there will be no slipup, I've recruited these brothers as an advance team to get you and your promised offering all ready before I get there. I want you to have all the time you need to make this offering in your own way. I don't want anything forced or hurried at the last minute.

Parallel Translations

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But I have sent the brethren, in order that our boasting about you may not be made empty in this case, so that, as I was saying, you may be prepared;

Legacy Standard Bible
But I have sent the brothers, in order that our boasting about you may not be made empty in this case, so that, as I was saying, you may be prepared;

Simplified Cowboy Version
I'm sending these cowboys to be sure y'all have passed the hat and are ready to send your offering. I hope I wasn't wrong about y'all.

Bible in Basic English
But I have sent the brothers, so that the good things we said about you may be seen to be true, and that, as I said, you may be ready:

Darby Translation
But I have sent the brethren, in order that our boasting about you may not be made void in this respect, in order that, as I have said, ye may be prepared;

Christian Standard Bible®
But I sent the brothers so our boasting about you in the matter would not prove empty, and so you would be prepared just as I said.

World English Bible
But I have sent the brothers, that our glorying on your behalf may not be made void in this respect, that, even as I said, you may be prepared,

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you on this head should be made vain, that, as I said, ye may be ready;

Weymouth's New Testament
Still I send the brethren in order that in this matter our boast about you may not turn out to have been an idle one; so that, as I have said, you may be ready;

King James Version (1611)
Yet haue I sent the brethren, least our boasting of you should bee in vaine in this behalfe, that as I saide, yee may be readie.

Literal Translation
But I sent the brothers that our boasting which is on your behalf should not be in vain in this respect, that as I said, you were ready;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Neuertheles yet haue we sent these brethren, lest oure reioysinge ouer you shulde be in vayne in this behalfe, that ye mighte be ready, as I haue reported of you:

Mace New Testament (1729)
yet have I sent the brethren, that my character of you may not appear to be groundless, with respect to that part wherein I said, ye would be ready:

Amplified Bible
Still, I am sending the brothers [on to you], so that our pride in you may not be an empty boast in this case, and so that you may be prepared, just as I told them you would be;

American Standard Version
But I have sent the brethren, that our glorying on your behalf may not be made void in this respect; that, even as I said, ye may be prepared:

Revised Standard Version
But I am sending the brethren so that our boasting about you may not prove vain in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Never thelesse yet have I sent these brethren lest oure reioysynge over you shuld be in vayne in this behalfe and that ye (as I have sayd) preparare youre selues

Update Bible Version
But I have sent the brothers, that our glorying on your behalf may not be made void in this respect; that, even as I said, you may be prepared:

Webster's Bible Translation
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:

Young's Literal Translation
and I sent the brethren, that our boasting on your behalf may not be made vain in this respect; that, according as I said, ye may be ready,

New Century Version
But I am sending the brothers to you so that our bragging about you in this will not be empty words. I want you to be ready, as I said you would be.

New English Translation
But I am sending these brothers so that our boasting about you may not be empty in this case, so that you may be ready just as I kept telling them.

Berean Standard Bible
But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove empty, but that you will be prepared, just as I said.

Contemporary English Version
That's why I am sending Titus and the two others to you. I want you to be ready, just as I promised. This will prove that we were not wrong to brag about you.

Complete Jewish Bible
But now I am sending the brothers so that our boast about you in this regard will not prove hollow, so that you will be ready, as I said you would be.

English Standard Version
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.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Nowe haue I sent the brethren, lest our reioycing ouer you shoulde bee in vaine in this behalfe, that yee (as I haue sayde) be readie:

George Lamsa Translation
Yet I have sent the brethren, so that our pride in you should not be in vain because of this question; for as I have said, you must be prepared:

Hebrew Names Version
But I have sent the brothers, that our glorying on your behalf may not be made void in this respect, that, even as I said, you may be prepared,

International Standard Version
Now I have sent the brothers so that our boasting about you in this matter may not prove to be an idle boast, and so that you may stand ready, just as I said.2 Corinthians 8:6,17-18,22;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But I have sent the brethren to you, that our boasting which we boasted of you may not in this affair be vain; but, as I have said, you may be ready:

Murdock Translation
Yet I sent the brethren, lest the glorying with which we have gloried in you in regard to this matter, should prove vain; and that ye, as I said, may be ready;

New King James Version
Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready;

New Living Translation
But I am sending these brothers to be sure you really are ready, as I have been telling them, and that your money is all collected. I don't want to be wrong in my boasting about you.

New Life Bible
I am sending these Christian brothers so the words I said about you will prove to be true and you will be ready to help.

English Revised Version
But I have sent the brethren, that our glorying on your behalf may not be made void in this respect; that, even as I said, ye may be prepared:

New Revised Standard
But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not prove to have been empty in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Nevertheless I have sent the brethren, that, our boast in your behalf, be not made void, in this respect, that, even as I was saying, ye may be prepared, -

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now I have sent the brethren, that the thing which we boast of concerning you be not made void in this behalf, that (as I have said) you may be ready:

King James Version
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:

Lexham English Bible
But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you would not prove to be empty in this case, so that you may be prepared just as I was saying,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Yet haue I sent the brethren, lest our boastyng which I make of you, should be in vayne in this behalfe, that ye (as I haue sayde) may prepare your selues.

Easy-to-Read Version
But I am sending these brothers to you. I don't want our bragging about you in this to be for nothing. I want you to be ready just as I said you would be.

New American Standard Bible
But I have sent the brothers, in order that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this case, so that, as I was saying, you will be prepared;

Good News Translation
Now I am sending these believers, so that our boasting about you in this matter may not turn out to be empty words. But, just as I said, you will be ready with your help.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And we han sent britheren, that this thing that we glorien of you, be not auoidid in this parti, that as Y seide, ye be redi.

Contextual Overview

¹If I wrote any more on this relief offering for the poor Christians, I'd be repeating myself. I know you're on board and ready to go. I've been bragging about you all through Macedonia province, telling them, "Achaia province has been ready to go on this since last year." Your enthusiasm by now has spread to most of them. ³Now I'm sending the brothers to make sure you're ready, as I said you would be, so my bragging won't turn out to be just so much hot air. If some Macedonians and I happened to drop in on you and found you weren't prepared, we'd all be pretty red-faced—you and us—for acting so sure of ourselves. So to make sure there will be no slipup, I've recruited these brothers as an advance team to get you and your promised offering all ready before I get there. I want you to have all the time you need to make this offering in your own way. I don't want anything forced or hurried at the last minute.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

have: 2 Corinthians 9:4, 2 Corinthians 7:14, 2 Corinthians 8:6, 2 Corinthians 8:17-24

ye may: 2 Corinthians 9:5, 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, Titus 3:1

Reciprocal: Proverbs 3:28 - General 1 Corinthians 16:2 - that 2 Corinthians 12:21 - my God

Cross-References

Genesis 9:1
God blessed Noah and his sons: He said, "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill the Earth! Every living creature—birds, animals, fish—will fall under your spell and be afraid of you. You're responsible for them. All living creatures are yours for food; just as I gave you the plants, now I give you everything else. Except for meat with its lifeblood still in it—don't eat that.

Genesis 9:5
"But your own lifeblood I will avenge; I will avenge it against both animals and other humans.

Genesis 9:12
God continued, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I'm putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth."

Deuteronomy 12:15
It's permissible to slaughter your nonsacrificial animals like gazelle and deer in your towns and eat all you want from them with the blessing of God , your God. Both the ritually clean and unclean may eat.

Romans 14:17
God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.

1 Corinthians 10:23
Looking at it one way, you could say, "Anything goes. Because of God's immense generosity and grace, we don't have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it will pass muster." But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well.

1 Corinthians 10:31
So eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you—you're eating to God's glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God's glory. At the same time, don't be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren't as free as you are. I try my best to be considerate of everyone's feelings in all these matters; I hope you will be, too.

Colossians 2:16
So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Yet have I sent the brethren,.... Titus, and the other two mentioned in the foregoing chapter: one manuscript reads, "we have sent"; and the Ethiopic version, "they have sent", that is, the Macedonians; but the common reading is best. It might be objected, that since the apostle knew the forwardness of their minds, how ready they were a year ago, and had boasted so much of their liberality, that it must be unnecessary to send the brethren to them, to stir them up to this work; which objection is prevented by observing the reason of his sending them:

lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf: or, "in this part", in this particular thing, על הדא צבותא, "concerning this business", or affair of beneficence to the poor, as the Syriac version renders it. He had boasted of them with respect to other things besides this; but he was chiefly concerned, knowing the frailty and changeableness of human nature, and how possible it was that their forwardness might abate, and they grow cold and indifferent to such service, lest his glorying of them should be in vain in this particular instance; wherefore he sent the brethren to put them on, that as they had begun they would finish:

that as I said ye may be ready, That as he had said to the Macedonians, that they were ready in mind, it might appear to be so; or as he had ordered them in his former epistle, they might be actually ready; have their collection ready made, so that there might be no gathering when he came.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Yet have I sent the brethren - The brethren referred to in 2 Corinthians 8:18, 2 Corinthians 8:22-23.

Lest our boasting of you - That you were disposed to contribute, and that you were already prepared, and that the contribution was ready.

Should be in vain - Lest anything should have occurred to prevent the collection. I have sent them that they may facilitate it, and that it may be secure and certain.

In this behalf - In this respect. That is, lest our boasting of you, in regard to your readiness to contribute to relieve the needs of others, should be found to have been ill-grounded.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Corinthians 9:3. Yet have I sent the brethren — Titus and his companions, mentioned in the preceding chapter.

That, as I said, ye may be ready — And he wished them to be ready, that they might preserve the good character he had given them: this was for their honour; and if they did not take care to do so, he might be reputed a liar; and thus both they and himself be ashamed before the Macedonians, should any of them at this time accompany him to Corinth.