2 Corinthians 8:5

2 Corinthians 8:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.

Context of 2 Corinthians 8:5

3Let me tell you this. They gave as much money as they were able to give. Then they gave even more than that! They gave it because they wanted to. 4They wanted the chance to help God's people. That would make them happy. So they asked us many times to help them to do this. They did more than we had even hoped for! First, they gave themselves to the Lord. Then they also gave themselves to us. They did that because God wanted them to do it. 6Because of that, we asked Titus to continue to help you. He is the person who helped you to start giving money. So he will help you to finish this good work. 7You have so much of everything! You trust God very well. You speak well. You know everything. You want to do many good things. You love us even more than we love you! So also do the best that you can as you give money to help others.

2 Corinthians 8:5 word by word

καὶ οὐ καθὼς ἠλπίσαμεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἑαυτοὺς ἔδωκαν πρῶτον τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἡμῖν διὰ θελήματος θεοῦRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• notοὐou · noG3756
• asκαθώςkathōs · as/just asG2531
• we hopedἐλπίζωelpizō · to hope/expectG1679
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• firstπρῶτονprōton · firstG4412
• gaveδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• their own selvesἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
• to the Lordὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• to the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• unto usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• byδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• the willθέλημαthelēma · will/desireG2307
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316

Cross-references for 2 Corinthians 8:5

• 2 Corinthians 5:14Whatever we do, we do it because Christ loves us. We know that one man, Christ, died on behalf of all people. So we also know that all of us died with him.
• 1 Samuel 1:28Now I will give this child to serve the Lord. He will be the Lord's servant for his whole life.’ Then Elkanah's family worshipped the Lord there.
• 2 Chronicles 30:8Do not refuse to obey him, as your parents did. Instead, agree to serve him. Come to his temple. He has made it a holy place for ever. Serve the Lord your God so that he will stop being so angry with you.
• Isaiah 44:3I will pour water onto land that is thirsty. I will pour streams of water on the dry ground. I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and I will bless them.
• Jeremiah 31:33‘Yes, I will make a new covenant with Israel's people at that time. It will be like this: I will put my law deep inside them, in their hearts and minds. I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Zechariah 13:9I will bring these people through fire. As men clean silver in the fire, so I will clean them. As men test gold in the fire, so I will test them. They will speak my name and I will answer them. I will say, “They are my people.” They will say, “The Lord is our God.” ’
• Romans 6:13Sin can use your body to do things that are wrong. So do not let any parts of your body serve sin as their master. Instead, be ready to serve God as your Master. You can do that because you now have a new life. Your old life is dead. So give every part of your body to God. Then he will use you to do right things.
• Romans 12:1My Christian friends, God has been very kind to us. Because of that, I really want you to serve God with your whole life. Offer your bodies to him like a sacrifice that continues to live. Serve him with everything that you have and that will please him. That is the true way to worship God.
• Romans 14:7None of us lives only to please ourselves. And we do not die to please ourselves.
• 1 Corinthians 6:19Remember this: Your body is the home of God's Holy Spirit. God gave his Holy Spirit to you and he lives in you. You do not belong to yourselves any longer.
• 2 Corinthians 4:5We do not speak a message about ourselves. We tell people that Jesus Christ is our Lord. Because we belong to Jesus, we have become your servants, not your masters.
• 1 Chronicles 12:18Then God's Spirit came to Amasai with power. He was the leader of the 30 great soldiers. He said, ‘We will serve you, David, Jesse's son. We have come to help you! May God bless you! May God bless those who help you! Yes, your God will help you.’ So David accepted them as his friends. He made them officers in his army.
• 2 Chronicles 30:12As for the people of Judah, God caused them to accept the command that the king and his officers had given. They all agreed together to do what the Lord wanted them to do.

Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 8:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Not as we hoped - They far exceeded our expectations, for they consecrated themselves entirely to the work of God; giving themselves and all they possessed first unto the Lord; and then, as they saw that it was the will of God that they should come especially forward in this charitable work, they gave themselves to us, to assist to the uttermost in providing relief for the suffering Christians in Judea.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And this they did … - They did not give what we expected only. We knew their poverty, and we expected only a small sum from them. Not as we hoped - Not according to the utmost of our hopes. We were greatly disappointed in the amount which they gave, and in the manner in which it was done. But first gave their ownselves to the Lord - They first made an entire consecration of themselves and all that they had to the Lord. They kept nothing back. They felt…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-15Paul now focuses on collecting funds for the Jerusalem church (8:4; 9:1). This relief fund aimed to help the poor believers in the holy city (Acts 11:27–30; Romans 15:25–27, 31; Galatians 2:10). Paul had previously given instructions about this matter (1 Corinthians 16:1–2). Now it was time to gather the funds (2 Corinthians 8:6). Paul hoped this gift from non-Jewish congregations to the Jewish church would strengthen ties between the two groups in the…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-53-5. they were willing--rather, supply from 2Co 8:5, the ellipsis thus, "According to their power ... yea, and beyond their power, THEY GAVE." of themselves--not only not being besought, but themselves beseeching us.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Corinthians 8:5

• Beneficence
• Consecration
• Emulation
• Macedonia
• Poor
• Tact
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• will of God
• Accept
• Accord
• Philippians, Epistle to
• Church
• Church Government
• Collection
• Corinthians, Second Epistle to the

Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings