5. ’ Av ay xaTov, necessary ) not merely [suitable] becoming. — npo- stfrjyysX/jtsvTiv, promised before [But Engl. V., whereof ye had notice before ]) by me, among tlie Macedonians, concerning you [the liberality on your part, which I had vouched for to the Macedonians]. — svXoy/av) as "iTi is used for word and deed, so iZXoyta, a blessing and a benefit [* bounty’], a bountiful gift, lxx. Josh. xv. 19. — sTvai) for rou zfoai, that it may be. — ovrcag , so) The Ploce is by this word [so] shown in regard to bounty.1 — irXeovefyuv, [covetousness] avarice) It is avarice , when men give niggardly, and receive [get] unjustly.
6. Qeidofisi/wg) sparingly. [The reaping corresponds to the manner and principles of the sowing. The very words lead to that infer- ence.— V. g.]. — g vXoyiaig) The plural adds to the force.
7. KaQug KpoaipeTrai) according as he purposeth [is disposed] in
his heart , Gen. xxxiv. 8, nppn, lxx — KpotTXtro He
purposeth beforehand : grudgingly : from necessity : cheerful ; Four expressions, of which the first and third, the second and fourth are opposed to each other. — dvdyxv\g, from necessity) on this account only, that he cannot refuse. — iXup'ov , cheerful) like God, Prov. xxii. 9, LXX., dvbpa iXup'ov xai bbrriv ayanu (Alex. evXoysf) 6 Qsog, God loves a cheerful man and a cheerful giver (Alex, blesses , instead of loves).
8. Uatfav all grace) even in external goods. — nspiMiZeat,
to render abundant) even while you bestow. — ha, that) What is given to us is so given and we have it, not that we may have, but that we may do well therewith. All things in this life, even rewards, are seeds to believers for the future harvest. — avrdpxuav, sufficiency) that you may not require another’s liberality. To this is to be referred the bread , ver. 10. — dya&bv, good) in regard to the needy. To this the seed is to be referred, ver. 10.
9. ’E axopKitsv, He hath dispersed) a generous word ; to disperse [scatter] with full hand, without anxious thought, in what direc- tion every grain may fall. There is also a metonymy,2 hath dis- persed [scattered], i.e., he always has, what he may disperse [scatter]. Indeed in Ps. cxii. 9 it is a part of the promise. — i] dixouotivvri avrov, his righteousness) righteousness , i.e., beneficence ;
1 Ploce, where a word is used, as evhoyloc here, first in the simple seuse, then to express some attribute of it. — See Append. — Ed.
2 Here the substitution of the consequent for the antecedent. — Ed.