Abram and Melchizedek^(A)

¹⁸ Then ^(B)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out ^(C)bread and wine; he was ^(D)the priest of ^(E)God Most High. ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said:

And he ^(I)gave him ^[a]a tithe of all.

^20 (A)Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If ^(B)God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me ^(C)bread to eat and clothing to put on, ²¹ so that ^(D)I come back to my father’s house in peace, ^(E)then the Lord shall be my God. ²² And this stone which I have set as a pillar ^(F)shall be God’s house, ^(G)and of all that You give me I will surely give a ^[a]tenth to You.”

³⁰ And ^(A)all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.

Do Not Rob God

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ^(A)For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and ^(B)have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Excel in Giving

8 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: ² that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and ^(A)their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. ³ For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, ⁴ imploring us with much urgency ^[a]that we would receive the gift and ^(B)the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. ⁵ And not only as we had hoped, but they first ^(C)gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the ^(D)will of God. ⁶ So ^(E)we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. ⁷ But as ^(F)you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see ^(G)that you abound in this grace also.

Christ Our Pattern

^8 (H)I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(I)that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become ^(J)rich.