2 Corinthians 9:9

2 Corinthians 9:9

(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.

a. NLT: As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”

b. NIV: As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”

c. YLT: (according as it hath been written, 'He dispersed abroad, he gave to the poor, his righteousness doth remain to the age,')

d. Worrell Translation: As it has been written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor; his righteousness abides forever.”

e. Wuest Translation: Even as it stands written, He [the liberal person] scattered abroad, he gave to those who are poor, his righteousness abides forever.

1. “(As it is written…”

a. As [Strong: 2531 kathos kath-oce' from 2596 and 5613; just (or inasmuch) as, that:--according to, (according, even) as, how, when.]

b. it is written [Strong: 1125 grapho graf'-o a primary verb; to "grave", especially to write; figuratively, to describe:--describe, write(-ing, -ten).

1). It must be noted that there is two OT passages referred to in what “is written”. 2 Corinthians 9:9 refers to one and 2 Corinthians 9:10 refers to another. 2 Corinthians 9:9 is quoting Psalm 112:9. In order to get a thorough picture of who “He” is, a look at the whole Psalm is necessary.

a). Psalm 112:1-10 Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

112:2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

112:3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

112:4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

112:5 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.

112:6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.

112:7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.

112:8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.

112:9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.

112:10 The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

2). Albert Barnes Commentary: The idea is, "in this way will the saying in the Scriptures be verified, or the promise confirmed." The psalmist is describing the character of the righteous man. One of his characteristics, he says, is, that he has scattered abroad, he has given liberally to the poor. On such a man a blessing is pronounced, (2Co 9:1;) and one of the blessings will be that he shall be prospered… Thus the whole passage in the Psalm is, "he hath dispersed; he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour;" that is, he shall be abundantly blessed with prosperity and with the favour of God. Thus the entire promise sustains the position of Paul, that the liberal man would be abundantly blessed.

2. “…He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor…”

a. [He hath] dispersed abroad [Strong: 4650 (through the idea of penetrating); to dissipate, i.e. (figuratively) put to flight, waste, be liberal:--disperse abroad, scatter (abroad).] [Thayer:  to scatter, of those who, routed or terror stricken or driven by some other impulses, fly in every direction, to scatter abroad (what others may collect for themselves), or one dispensing blessings literally.]

b. [he hath] given [1325 * didomi][Strong: to give (used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figuratively; greatly modified by the connection):--adventure, bestow, bring forth, commit, deliver (up), give, grant, hinder, make, minister, number, offer, have power, put, receive, set, shew, smite (+ with the hand), strike (+ with the palm of the hand), suffer, take, utter, yield.]

c. [to the] poor [Strong: 3993 pen'-ace starving, i.e. indigent:--poor.]

1). The Septuagint of Psalm 112:9 is almost word for word with the KJV of 2 Corinthians 9:9.

a). Psalm 112:9 He has dispersed abroad; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for evermore.

2). Jesus said when you have a feast, invite the poor, those who cannot repay you.

a). Luke 14:12-14 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.

14:13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:

14:14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

3. “…his righteousness remaineth for ever.”

a. his [Strong: 846 autos ow-tos' from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

b. righteousness [Strong: 1343 dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay equity (of character or act); specially (Christian) justification:--righteousness.] [Vine: is "the character or quality of being right or just;" it was formerly spelled "rightwiseness," which clearly expresses the meaning. of whatever is right or just in itself, whatever conforms to the revealed will of God, whatever has been appointed by God to be acknowledged and obeyed by man, religious duties, Matthew 6:1 (distinguished as almsgiving, man's duty to his neighbor, Matthew 6:2-4, prayer, his duty to God, Matthew 6:5-15, fasting, the duty of self-control, Matthew 6:16-18).

1). In the text the duties of almsgiving are certainly mentioned and the narrow view would be the duty of righteousness, but the wide view would be his right standing with God also.

c. remaineth [Strong: 3306 meno men'-o a primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy):--abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), X thine own.]

d. for [Strong: 1519 eis ice a primary preposition; to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etc.); also in adverbial phrases:--(abundant-)ly, against, among, as, at, (back-)ward, before, by, concerning, + continual, + far more exceeding, for (intent, purpose), fore, + forth, in (among, at, unto, -so much that, -to), to the intent that, + of one mind, + never, of, (up-)on, + perish, + set at one again, (so) that, therefore(-unto), throughout, til, to (be, the end, -ward), (here-)until(-to), ...ward, (where-)fore, with. Often used in composition with the same general import, but only with verbs (etc.) expressing motion (literally or figuratively).]

e. ever [Strong: 165 aion ahee-ohn' from the same as 104; properly, an age; by extension, perpetuity (also past); by implication, the world; specially (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future):--age, course, eternal, (for) ever(-more), (n-)ever, (beginning of the , while the) world (began, without end).]

1). Family Bible Notes: His righteousness; as manifested in his works of love and mercy. Remaineth for ever; in the original Hebrew, standeth for ever, that is, endureth firm, being acknowledged and upheld by God. It follows that he himself stands firm for ever in God's favor. Compare the following clause of the psalm, "His horn shall be exalted with honor."

2). Matthew Poole’s Commentary: The psalmist saith: His righteousness endureth for ever: by which term some understand his bounty or liberality: I had rather understand by it here his obedience to the command of God at his free distribution to the poor; this remaineth in God's book of remembrance for ever, God will not forget this labour of love, Heb 6:10. The friends which he maketh with his mammon of righteousness, shall receive him into everlasting habitations, Lu 16:9. A man's riches cannot remain for ever, but his righteousness, in the distribution of them according to the command of God, that shall remain forever.

3). A perfect example of this is shown in the Book of Acts regarding Cornelius and his life of giving and showing mercy.

a). Acts 10:1-4 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,

10:2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.

10:3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.

10:4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.

4). The doctrinal truth that God has a book or books of remembrance is clearly documented in Scripture multiple times.

a). Malachi 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

5). Some of these books will be used in the final judgment of individual men and women.

a). Daniel 7:10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

b). Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.