1 Corinthians 16:3
in 1 Corinthians 16Then, on my arrival, I will send letters with those you recommend to carry your gift to Jerusalem.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when I arrive, whomsoever ye shall approve, them will I send with letters to carry your bounty unto Jerusalem:
KJV
And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.
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This verse in 1 Corinthians 16
Commentary
11 notes on this verseHe said well, "whom you shall approve," to avoid any scandal, lest they suspect that he wishes to take some portion of the collection for himself. So after the word "approve" place a period, then read: "them I will send with letters." The connection will …
This site's exposition
the collection for the saints
on 1 Corinthians 16:1-4
The collection is the fund for Jerusalem's poor, Gentile churches repaying in material aid the spiritual things they received (Romans 15:27). Setting it aside on the first day of every week makes giving weekly, private and proportionate.
This site's exposition
carry your gift to Jerusalem
Gift here is charis, the word for grace, and Paul uses it of the offering again in 2 Corinthians 8. The church chose its own messengers, and Paul supplied letters of introduction to the Jerusalem believers. Money given in grace travelled under open accountability.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"And when I arrive, whomsoever ye shall approve, them will I send with letters to carry your bounty to Jerusalem." He said not, "this person," and "that," but, "whomsoever ye shall approve," whomsoever you shall choose, thus freeing his ministration from suspicion. Wherefore to them he leaves the right of voting in the choice of those who are to convey it. He is far enough from saying, "The payment is yours, but the privilege of selecting those who are to carry it is not yours." Next, that they might not think him quite absent, he adds his letters, saying, "Whomsoever you approve, I will send with letters." As if he had said, I also will be with them and share in the ministration, by my letters. And he said not, "These will I send to bear your alms," but, "your bounty;" to signify that they were doing great deeds; to mark that they were gainers themselves. And elsewhere he calls it both "a blessing" and "a distribution." The one that he might not make them less active, the other that he might not elate them. But in no case whatever hath he called it "alms."
This collection was doubly beneficial, because it helped the saints mentioned above and also the poor people who were in the church.
The Medieval Church1 voice
He adds how the alms should be sent to Jerusalem, saying, when I arrive. As if to say: I do not wish in this to burden any especially, namely for bearing the money, but I will send those whom you accredit, i.e., the ones you …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And when I come,.... To Corinth, as he intended very quickly: whomsoever you shall approve by your letters; that is, such persons as this church should approve, and choose, and fix upon as proper persons to go with their collection; which approbation and choice they would signify by letters to the church, and principal men of it in Jerusalem, giving them a character as men of probity and faithfulness: them will I send.
This would be a proper testimony of their respect and brotherly love to their distressed brethren, to send their gift by members of their own body, trusty and tenderhearted, who would have compassion on their suffering brethren, and a Christian concern for them, and not defraud them.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters - There has been great variety of opinion in regard to the proper construction of this verse. Macknight supposes that the “letters” here referred to were not letters either to or from the apostle, but letters signed and sent by the congregation at Corinth, designating their appointment and their authority. With this interpretation Doddridge coincides; and this is required by the usual pointing of the Greektext, where the comma is inserted after the word letters, as in our translation.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
If English Version be retained, the sense will be, "When I come, I will send those whom by your letters, then to be given them, ye shall approve." But the antithesis (opposition or contrast) to Paul himself (1Co 16:4) favors GROTIUS' view. So "by" means with (Ro 2:27); and the Greek for "by" is translated, with (2Co 2:4). liberality--literally, gracious or free gift (2Co 8:4).
Whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters - Why should Paul require letters of approbation in behalf of certain persons, when he himself should be among them, and could have their characters viva voce? It is probable that he refers here to letters of recommendation which they had sent to him while he was away; and he now promises that when he should come to Corinth, he would appoint these persons, whom they had recommended, to carry the alms to Jerusalem. If δοκιμασητε, be read ye shall have approved, as Bishop Pearce does, the difficulty will vanish. Some MSS. and several versions join δι’ επιστολων, by letters, to the following words, and read the verse thus: When I come, those whom ye shall approve I will send with letters to bring your liberality to Jerusalem. This seems most natural.
The words behind it
16 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὅταν | hotan | When | G3752 → | 123 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| παραγένωμαι, | paragenomai | I may have arrived, | G3854 → | |
| οὓς | hous | whomever | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ἐὰν | ean | maybe | G1437 → | 352 times |
| δοκιμάσητε, | dokimasete | you shall approve, | G1381 → | 22 times |
| δι᾽ | di᾽ | with | G1223 → | 664 times |
| ἐπιστολῶν | epistolon | letters | G1992 → | |
| τούτους | toutous | these | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| πέμψω | pempso | I will send | G3992 → | |
| ἀπενεγκεῖν | apenegkein | to carry | G667 → | |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| χάριν | charin | bounty | G5485 → | 153 times |
| ὑμῶν | humon | of you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| εἰς | eis | to | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| Ἰερουσαλήμ· | ierousalem | Jerusalem; | G2419 → |
ὅτανWhen
hotanG3752 →123 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
παραγένωμαι,I may have arrived,
paragenomaiG3854 →
οὓςwhomever
housG3739 →1405 times
ἐὰνmaybe
eanG1437 →352 times
δοκιμάσητε,you shall approve,
dokimaseteG1381 →22 times
δι᾽with
di᾽G1223 →664 times
ἐπιστολῶνletters
epistolonG1992 →
τούτουςthese
toutousG3778 →1381 times
πέμψωI will send
pempsoG3992 →
ἀπενεγκεῖνto carry
apenegkeinG667 →
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
χάρινbounty
charinG5485 →153 times
ὑμῶνof you
humonG4771 →2973 times
εἰςto
eisG1519 →1755 times
Ἰερουσαλήμ·Jerusalem;
ierousalemG2419 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Corinthians 8:6So we urged Titus to help complete your act of grace, just as he had started it.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 12:18
I urged Titus to visit you, and I sent our brother with him. Did Titus exploit you in any way? Did we not walk in the same Spirit and follow in the same footsteps?
- 2 Corinthians 8:19
More than that, this brother was chosen by the churches to accompany us with the offering—the gracious gift we administer to honor the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help.
- 2 Corinthians 8:16–17
But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same devotion I have for you.
- 2 Corinthians 12:18
Through
1 Corinthians 11:34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you come together it will not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give instructions about the remaining matters.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 11:21–22
For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without sharing his meal. While one remains hungry, another gets drunk.
- 1 Corinthians 11:21–22
Through
2 Corinthians 8:4they earnestly pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.
it leads to
- Galatians 6:10
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.
- Acts 24:17
After several years, then, I returned to Jerusalem to bring alms to my people and to present offerings.
- Hebrews 6:10
For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
- 2 Corinthians 9:1
Now about the service to the saints, there is no need for me to write to you.
- Galatians 6:10
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Corinthians
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 43; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.