Is it encouraging others? Then encourage them. Is it giving to others? Then give freely. Is it being a leader? Then work hard at it. Is it showing mercy? Then do it cheerfully.

或作劝化的，就当专一劝化；施舍的，就当诚实；治理的，就当殷勤；怜悯人的，就当甘心。

或劝勉的，要专一劝勉；施舍的，要诚实；治理的，要殷勤；怜悯人的，要乐意。

或劝勉的，要专一劝勉；施舍的，要诚实；治理的，要殷勤；怜悯人的，要乐意。

劝勉的，要诚心劝勉；施舍的，要慷慨施舍；治理的，要殷勤治理；怜悯的，要甘心怜悯。

劝慰的，就应当照着恩赐劝慰；把财物分给人的要真诚；领导的要殷勤；行善的要乐意。

如果是劝勉的，就用在劝勉上；分享的，要慷慨；带领的，要殷勤；怜悯人的，要甘心乐意。

或作勸化的，就當專一勸化；施捨的，就當誠實；治理的，就當殷勤；憐憫人的，就當甘心。

或勸勉的，要專一勸勉；施捨的，要誠實；治理的，要殷勤；憐憫人的，要樂意。

或勸勉的，要專一勸勉；施捨的，要誠實；治理的，要殷勤；憐憫人的，要樂意。

勸勉的，要誠心勸勉；施捨的，要慷慨施捨；治理的，要殷勤治理；憐憫的，要甘心憐憫。

勸慰的，就應當照著恩賜勸慰；把財物分給人的要真誠；領導的要殷勤；行善的要樂意。

或是勸慰的，就該用在勸慰上。分給的呢、要用慷慨的心；督導的呢、要用熱切；憐恤人的呢、要歡悅喜樂。

如果是勸勉的，就用在勸勉上；分享的，要慷慨；帶領的，要殷勤；憐憫人的，要甘心樂意。

或勸慰、則勸慰、濟者以誠、治者以勤、矜者以樂、

或勸慰、則勸慰、其賙濟也、以丹心、其治理也、以殷勤、其矜恤也、以喜樂、

或勸戒者、當勸戒、其施舍也以誠實、其治理也以殷勤、其矜恤也以歡心、

勸慰者勸慰。布施務廣、治人務勤。矜貧恤寡、難得滿腔和氣；

if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

or the one who exhorts, in the work of exhortation; the one who gives, with generosity; the one who is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting: he that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.

if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth,[ let him do it] with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

or he who exhorts, to his exhorting; he who gives, let him do it with generosity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. You shouldn’t give if you don’t want to. You shouldn’t give because you are forced to. God loves a cheerful giver.

The elders who do the church’s work well are worth twice as much honor. That is true in a special way of elders who preach and teach.

First, God has placed apostles in the church. Second, he has placed prophets in the church. Third, he has placed teachers in the church. Then he has given to the church miracles and gifts of healing. He also has given the gift of helping others and the gift of guiding the church. God also has given the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages.

Judas and Silas were prophets. They said many things to give strength and hope to the believers.

And let us not give up meeting together. Some are in the habit of doing this. Instead, let us encourage one another with words of hope. Let us do this even more as you see Christ’s return approaching.

The Law and the Prophets were read aloud. Then the leaders of the synagogue sent word to Paul and his companions. They said,“ Brothers, do you have any words of instruction for the people? If you do, please speak.”

The appeal we make is based on truth. It comes from a pure heart. We are not trying to trick you.

Freely give them some animals from your flock. Also give them some of your grain and wine. The Lord your God has blessed you richly. Give to them as he has given to you.

In the morning plant your seeds. In the evening keep your hands busy. You don’t know what will succeed. It may be one or the other. Or both might do equally well.

You will be made rich in every way. Then you can always give freely. We will take your many gifts to the people who need them. And they will give thanks to God.

That’s also why you pay taxes. The authorities serve God. Ruling takes up all their time.

You have shown yourselves to be worthy by what you have given. So other people will praise God because you obey him. That proves that you really believe the good news about Christ. They will also praise God because you share freely with them and with everyone else.

Until I come, spend your time reading Scripture out loud to one another. Spend your time preaching and teaching.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything. Don’t do it just to please them when they are watching you. Obey them with an honest heart. Do it out of respect for the Lord.

But those who are noble make noble plans. And by doing noble things they succeed.

“ When you give to needy people, do not announce it by having trumpets blown. Do not be like those who only pretend to be holy. They announce what they do in the synagogues and on the streets. They want to be honored by other people. What I’m about to tell you is true. They have received their complete reward.When you give to needy people, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.Then your giving will be done secretly. Your Father will reward you, because he sees what you do secretly.

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Welcome others into your homes.

Be filled with joy in the sight of the Lord your God. Be joyful at the special place he will choose for his Name. You, your children, and your male and female servants should be joyful. So should the Levites living in your towns. So should the outsiders and widows living among you. And so should the children whose fathers have died.

You come to help those who enjoy doing what is right. You help those who thank you for teaching them how to live. But when we continued to disobey you, you became angry with us. So how can we be saved?

But Eve’s mind was tricked by the snake’s clever lies. And here’s what I’m afraid of. Your minds will also somehow be led astray. They will be led away from your true and pure love for Christ.

With great power the apostles continued their teaching. They were telling people that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead. And God’s grace was working powerfully in all of them.So there were no needy persons among them. From time to time, those who owned land or houses sold them. They brought the money from the sales.They put it down at the apostles’ feet. It was then given out to anyone who needed it.

“ I haven’t said no to what poor people have wanted. I haven’t let widows lose their hope.I haven’t kept my bread to myself. I’ve shared it with children whose fathers had died.From the time I was young, I’ve helped those widows. I’ve raised those children as a father would.Suppose I’ve seen people dying because they didn’t have enough clothes. I’ve seen needy people who didn’t have enough to keep warm.And they didn’t give me their blessing when I warmed them with wool from my sheep.

Brothers and sisters, we ask you to accept the godly leaders who work hard among you. They care for you in the Lord. They correct you.Have a lot of respect for them. Love them because of what they do. Live in peace with one another.Brothers and sisters, we are asking you to warn certain people. These people don’t want to work. Instead, they make trouble. We are also asking you to encourage those who have lost hope. Help those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

Be filled with joy at your feast. You, your children, and your male and female servants should be joyful. So should the Levites, the outsiders, and the widows living in your towns. And so should the children whose fathers have died.For seven days celebrate the feast to honor the Lord your God. Do it at the place he will choose. The Lord will bless you when you gather all your crops. He’ll bless you in everything you do. And you will be full of joy.

Keep watch over yourselves. Keep watch over all the believers. The Holy Spirit has made you leaders over them. Be shepherds of God’s church. He bought it with his own blood.

Sinful people borrow and don’t pay back. But those who are godly give freely to others.

But the person who prophesies speaks to people. That person prophesies to make people stronger, to give them hope, and to comfort them.

As Jesus looked up, he saw rich people putting their gifts into the temple offering boxes.He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.“ What I’m about to tell you is true,” Jesus said.“ That poor widow has put in more than all the others.All these other people gave a lot because they are rich. But even though she is poor, she put in everything. She had nothing left to live on.”

Here is what we take pride in. Our sense of what is right and wrong tells us how we have acted. We have lived with honor and godly honesty. We have depended on God’s grace and not on the world’s wisdom. We lived that way most of all when we were dealing with you.

Do you really want to give? Then the gift is measured by what someone has. It is not measured by what they don’t have.

I have chosen him. He must direct his children to live in the way that pleases me. And he must direct the members of his family after him to do the same. So he must guide all of them in doing what is right and fair. Then I, the Lord, will do for Abraham what I have promised him.”

He must manage his own family well. He must make sure that his children obey him. And he must do this in a way that gains him respect.Suppose someone doesn’t know how to manage his own family. Then how can he take care of God’s church?

Slaves, obey your masters here on earth. Respect them and honor them with a heart that is true. Obey them just as you would obey Christ.

They have spread their gifts around to poor people. Their good works continue forever. They will be powerful and honored.

Those who give freely will be blessed. That’s because they share their food with those who are poor.

No matter what you do, work at it with all your might. Remember, you are going to the place of the dead. And there isn’t any work or planning or knowledge or wisdom there.

“ The King will reply,‘ What I’m about to tell you is true. Anything you did for one of the least important of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Share your food with hungry people. Provide homeless people with a place to stay. Give naked people clothes to wear. Provide for the needs of your own family.Then the light of my blessing will shine on you like the rising sun. I will heal you quickly. I will march out ahead of you. And my glory will follow behind you and guard you. That’s because I always do what is right.You will call out to me for help. And I will answer you. You will cry out. And I will say,‘ Here I am.’“ Get rid of the chains you use to hold others down. Stop pointing your finger at others as if they had done something wrong. Stop saying harmful things about them.Work hard to feed hungry people. Satisfy the needs of those who are crushed. Then my blessing will light up your darkness. And the night of your suffering will become as bright as the noonday sun.I will always guide you. I will satisfy your needs in a land baked by the sun. I will make you stronger. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water. You will be like a spring whose water never runs dry.

Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given to the churches in Macedonia.They have suffered a great deal. But in their suffering, their joy was more than full. Even though they were very poor, they gave very freely.I tell you that they gave as much as they could. In fact, they gave even more than they could. Completely on their own,they begged us for the chance to share in serving the Lord’s people in that way.They did more than we expected. First they gave themselves to the Lord. Then they gave themselves to us because that was what God wanted.Titus had already started collecting money from you. So we asked him to help you finish making your kind gift.You do well in everything else. You do well in faith and in speaking. You do well in knowledge and in complete commitment. And you do well in the love we have helped to start in you. So make sure that you also do well in the grace of giving to others.I am not commanding you to do it. But I want to test you. I want to find out if you really love God. I want to compare your love with that of others.You know the grace shown by our Lord Jesus Christ. Even though he was rich, he became poor to help you. Because he became poor, you can become rich.

When the governor saw what had happened, he believed. He was amazed at what Paul was teaching about the Lord.

Trust in your leaders. Put yourselves under their authority. Do this, because they keep watch over you. They know they are accountable to God for everything they do. Do this, so that their work will be a joy. If you make their work a heavy load, it won’t do you any good.

Foolish people won’t be considered noble anymore. Those who are worthless won’t be highly respected.

we cared for you. We loved you so much. So we were happy to share with you God’s good news. We were also happy to share our lives with you.

One of them was named Agabus. He stood up and spoke through the Spirit. He said there would not be nearly enough food anywhere in the Roman world. This happened while Claudius was the emperor.The believers decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. All of them helped as much as they could.They sent their gift to the elders through Barnabas and Saul.

Instead, open your hands and lend them what they need. Do it freely.Be careful not to have an evil thought in your mind. Don’t say to yourself,“ The seventh year will soon be here. It’s the year for forgiving people what they owe.” If you think like that, you might treat the needy people among you badly. You might not give them anything. Then they might make their appeal to the Lord against you. And he will find you guilty of sin.So give freely to needy people. Let your heart be tender toward them. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all your work. He will bless you in everything you do.There will always be poor people in the land. So I’m commanding you to give freely to those who are poor and needy in your land. Open your hands to them.

All the believers were together. They shared everything they had.They sold property and other things they owned. They gave to anyone who needed something.Every day they met together in the temple courtyard. They ate meals together in their homes. Their hearts were glad and sincere.

He traveled through that area, speaking many words of hope to the people. Finally he arrived in Greece.

Brothers and sisters, I beg you to accept my word. It tells you to be faithful. Accept my word because I have written to you only a short letter.

Remember your leaders. They spoke God’s word to you. Think about the results of their way of life. Copy their faith.

Greet all your leaders. Greet all the Lord’s people. The believers from Italy send you their greetings.

I will sing about your love and fairness. Lord, I will sing praise to you.I will be careful to lead a life that is without blame. When will you come and help me? In my own home I will lead a life that is without blame.I won’t look at anything that is evil and call it good. I hate the acts of people who aren’t faithful to you. I won’t have anything to do with those things.I will stay away from those whose hearts are twisted. I won’t have anything to do with what is evil.I will get rid of anyone who tells lies about their neighbor in secret. I won’t put up with anyone whose eyes and heart are proud.I will look with favor on the faithful people in the land. They will live with me. Those whose lives are without blame will serve me.No one who lies and cheats will live in my house. No one who tells lies will serve me.Every morning I will get rid of all the sinful people in the land. I will remove from the city of the Lord everyone who does what is evil.

Sell your grain in the market overseas. After a while you might earn something from it.Try to succeed by doing many things. After all, you don’t know what great trouble might come on the land.

Welcome others into your homes without complaining.God’s gifts of grace come in many forms. Each of you has received a gift in order to serve others. You should use it faithfully.If anyone speaks, they should do it as one speaking God’s words. If anyone serves, they should do it with the strength God provides. Then in all things God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Glory and power belong to him for ever and ever. Amen.

Be shepherds of God’s flock, the believers under your care. Watch over them, though not because you have to. Instead, do it because you want to. That’s what God wants you to do. Don’t do it because you want to get money in dishonest ways. Do it because you really want to serve.Don’t act as if you were a ruler over those under your care. Instead, be examples to the flock.