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

3I assure you that by their own free will they have given all they could, even more than they could afford. 4They made an appeal to us, begging us to let them participate in the ministry of God’s kindness to his holy people ⌞in Jerusalem⌟. They did more than we had expected. First, they gave themselves to the Lord and to us, since this was God’s will. 6This led us to urge Titus to finish his work of God’s kindness among you in the same way as he had already started it. 7Indeed, the more your faith, your ability to speak, your knowledge, your dedication, and your love for us increase, the more we want you to participate in this work of God’s kindness.

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 5:14Clearly, Christ’s love guides us. We are convinced of the fact that one man has died for all people. Therefore, all people have died.
• 1 Samuel 1:28In return, I am giving him to the Lord. He will be dedicated to the Lord for his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there.
• 2 Chronicles 30:8Don’t be impossible to deal with like your ancestors. Reach out for the Lord. Come to his holy place that he made holy forever. Serve the Lord your God, and he will turn his burning anger away from you.
• Isaiah 44:3I will pour water on thirsty ground and rain on dry land. I will pour my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants.
• Jeremiah 31:33“But this is the promise that I will make to Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put my teachings inside them, and I will write those teachings on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
• Zechariah 13:9I will bring this third ⌞of the people⌟ through the fire. I will refine them as silver is refined. I will test them as gold is tested. They will call on me, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people.’ They will reply, ‘The Lord is our God.’ ”
• Romans 6:13Never offer any part of your body to sin’s power. No part of your body should ever be used to do any ungodly thing. Instead, offer yourselves to God as people who have come back from death and are now alive. Offer all the parts of your body to God. Use them to do everything that God approves of.
• Romans 12:1Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God’s compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to him. This kind of worship is appropriate for you.
• Romans 14:7It’s clear that we don’t live to honor ourselves, and we don’t die to honor ourselves.
• 1 Corinthians 6:19Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves.
• 2 Corinthians 4:5Our message is not about ourselves. It is about Jesus Christ as the Lord. We are your servants for his sake.
• 1 Chronicles 12:18Then the Spirit gave Amasai, the leader of the thirty, the strength ⌞to say⌟, “We are yours, David. We are with you, son of Jesse. Success, success to you! Success to those who help you, because your God is helping you.” So David welcomed them and made them officers over his troops.
• 2 Chronicles 30:12Also, God guided the people of Judah so that they united to carry out the command which the king and the leaders gave from the Lord’s word.

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