2 Corinthians 9:10 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
2 Corinthians 9:10
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
to increase (transitively or intransitively) · verb — future active indicative, 3rd person singular
your
ὑμῶνhymōn
G5216
of (from or concerning) you
sown
σπόρονsporon
G4703
a scattering (of seed) · noun — accusative singular masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
increase
αὐξήσειauxēsei
G837
to grow ("wax") · verb — future active indicative, 3rd person singular
fruits
γέννημαgénnēma
G1081
offspring
your
ὑμῶνhymōn
G5216
of (from or concerning) you
righteousness
δικαιοσύνηςdikaiosunēs
G1343
equity (of character or act) · noun — genitive singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud,…
Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain right…
2 Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
Ecclesiastes 11:6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or…
Proverbs 11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
Matthew 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Philippians 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 9:6–end
Here we have,
I. Proper directions to be observed about the right and acceptable manner of bestowing charity; and it is of great concernment that we not only do what is required, but do it as is commanded. Now, as to the manner in which the apostle would have the Corinthians give, observe, 1. It should be bountifully; this was intimated, Co2 9:5, that a liberal contribution was expected, a matter of bounty, not what savoured of covetousness; and he offers to their consideration that men who expect a good return at harvest are not wont to pinch and spare in sowing their seed, for the return is usually proportionable to what they sow, Co2 9:6. 2. It should be deliberately Every man, according…
Translate, as in Isa 55:10, "He that ministereth (supplieth) seed to the sower and bread for food" (literally, "bread for eating").
minister--rather future, as the oldest manuscripts, "Shall minister (supply) and multiply."
your seed--your means for liberality.
the fruits of your righteousness--the heavenly rewards for your Christian charity (Mat 10:42). Righteousness shall be itself the reward, even as it is the thing rewarded (Hos 10:12; Mat 5:6; Mat 6:33).
Adam Clarke on 2 Corinthians 9:10
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower - The sower, as we have already seen, is he that gives alms of what he hath; and God, who requires him to give these alms, is here represented as providing him with the means. As in the creation, if God had not created the earth with every tree and plant with its seed in itself, so that a harvest came, without a previous ploughing and sowing, there could have been no seed to deposit in the earth; so, if God had not, in the course of his providence, given them the property they had, it would be impossible for them to give alms. And as even the well cultivated and sowed field would be unfruitful if God did not, by his unseen energy and blessing, cause…
Moreover, the blessed Apostle Paul, full of the grace of the Lord's inspiration, says: "He that ministereth seed to the sower, shall both minister bread for your food, and shall multiply your seed sown, and shall increase the growth of the fruits of your righteousness, that in all things ye may be enriched.". Likewise in the same place: "Now he who ministereth seed to the sower, shall both supply bread to be eaten, and shall multiply your seed, and shall increase the growth of the fruits of your righteousness: that in all things ye may be made rich."
And again Paul himself prayed for those who give that the fruits of their righteousness might be increased, and that they might distribute gifts to the needy with simplicity, "May that God Who giveth seed to the sowers, and bread for food, multiply your seed, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; that ye may be enriched in everything in all simplicity, which perfecteth by our hand thanksgiving to God." And behold here also in simplicity Paul prayeth for his disciples that they may be enriched, and that therefrom, he saith, thanksgiving towards God may increase and wax strong.
Herein one may particularly admire the wisdom of Paul, that after having exhorted from spiritual considerations and from temporal, in respect of the recompense also he again does the very same, making the returns he mentions of either kind. This, (for instance,) "He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor, his righteousness abideth for ever," belongs to a spiritual return; that again, "multiply your seed for sowing," to a temporal recompense. Still, however, he rests not here, but even again passes back to what is spiritual, placing the two continually side by side; for "increase the fruits of your righteousness," is spiritual. This he does, and gives variety by it to his discourse, tearing up by the roots those their unmanly and faint-hearted reasonings, and using many arguments to dissipate their fear of poverty, as also the example which he now brings. For if even to those that sow the earth God gives, if to those that feed the body He grants abundance; much more will He to those who till the soil of heaven, to those who take care for the soul; for these things He willeth should yet more enjoy His providing care. However, he does not state this in the way of inference nor in the manner I have done, but in the form of a prayer; thus at once making the reference plain, and the rather leading them on to hope, not only from what [commonly] takes place, but also from his own prayer: for, 'May He minister,' saith he, 'and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.' Here also again he hints, in an unsuspicious way, at largeness [in giving], for the words, "multiply and increase," are by way of indicating this; and at the same time he allows them to seek for nothing more than necessaries, saying, "bread for food." For this also is particularly worthy of admiration in him, (and it is a point he successfully established even before,) namely, that in things which be necessary, he allows them to seek for nothing more than need requires; but in spiritual things counsels them to get for themselves a large superabundance. Wherefore he said above also, "that having a sufficiency ye may abound to every good work:" and here, "He that ministereth bread for food, multiply your seed for sowing;" that is to say, the spiritual [seed]. For he asks not almsgiving merely, but with largeness. Wherefore also he continually calls it…
Dictionary and topics
Beneficence · 18:5,7-9; — 18:5,7-9;
Liberality · 3:10-12; — 3:10-12;
Righteousness · Ministers should: Pray for the fruit of, in their people — Ministers should: Pray for the fruit of, in their people
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on 2 Corinthians 9:10
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower, and bread for your food,.... For so the words ought to be pointed and read, as is clear from Isaiah 55:10 to which they refer; and are a "periphrasis" of God, who so blesses the seed that is cast into the earth, that it brings forth such an increase, as that there is a sufficiency of bread for food to the eater for the present year, and a sufficiency of seed to sow with again the next year; and that God, that does this every year, is able "to minister to", or supply your present necessities;
and to multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; though some consider these as a wish or prayer of the apostle's, that God would…
2 Corinthians 9:10-15
10. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
10. Pro qui suppeditat semen seminanti, is et panem in cibum supeditet, et multiplicet sementem vestram, et augeat proventus iustitiae vestrae.
11. Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
11. Ut in omnibus locupletemini in omnem simplicitatem, quae per vos producit gratiarum actionem Deo.
12. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
12. Nam ministerium huius f…
The Corinthians’ generosity would be matched by God’s generosity (9:10-11). It would also meet the needs of Jewish Christians (9:12), honor God (9:13), show believers in Jerusalem that their Gentile brothers and sisters were genuine believers (9:13), and result in the Jewish believers’ intercessory prayer and affection for the Gentile believers (9:14). Paul envisioned a united, worldwide Christian church, composed of believing Jews and Gentiles who are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28; Eph 2:11-22), which would become a powerful witness to the Lord’s work of reconciliation.
