Romans 12:8

Bible in Basic English (1941)

He who has the power of comforting, let him do so; he who gives, let him give freely; he who has the power of ruling, let him do it with a serious mind; he who has mercy on others, let it be with joy.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Εἴτε ὁ παρακαλῶν, ἐν τῇ παρακλήσει: ὁ μεταδιδούς, ἐν ἁπλότητι· ὁ προϊστάμενος, ἐν σπουδῇ· ὁ ἐλεῶν, ἐν ἱλαρότητι.

Transliteration

Whether the one parakalōn, in the paraklēsei; the one metadidous, in haplotēti; the one proistamenos, in spoudē; the one eleōn, in hilarotēti.

Grammar Details

• *parakalōn*: present active participle, nominative, masculine, singular - exhorting/encouraging
• *paraklēsei*: dative, feminine, singular - exhortation/encouragement
• *metadidous*: present active participle, nominative, masculine, singular - giving/sharing
• *haplotēti*: dative, feminine, singular - simplicity/sincerity/liberality
• *proistamenos*: present middle participle, nominative, masculine, singular - leading/presiding
• *spoudē*: dative, feminine, singular - diligence/earnestness
• *eleōn*: present active participle, nominative, masculine, singular - showing mercy
• *hilarotēti*: dative, feminine, singular - cheerfulness/gladness

Word Meanings

• *parakalōn*: exhorting/encouraging/comforting/urging
• *paraklēsei*: exhortation/encouragement/comfort/consolation
• *metadidous*: giving/sharing/imparting/distributing
• *haplotēti*: simplicity/sincerity/liberality/generosity
• *proistamenos*: leading/presiding/ruling/managing
• *spoudē*: diligence/earnestness/zeal/haste
• *eleōn*: showing mercy/having compassion
• *hilarotēti*: cheerfulness/gladness/joyfulness

Referenced Verses

• 2 Cor 9:7 : 7 Let every man do after the purpose of his heart; not giving with grief, or by force: for God takes pleasure in a ready giver.
• 1 Cor 12:28 : 28 And God has put some in the church, first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then those with wonder-working powers, then those with the power of taking away disease, helpers, wise guides, users of strange tongues.
• 1 Tim 5:17 : 17 Let rulers whose rule is good be honoured twice over, specially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
• Heb 10:25 : 25 Not giving up our meetings, as is the way of some, but keeping one another strong in faith; and all the more because you see the day coming near.
• Acts 13:15 : 15 And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the Synagogue sent to them, saying, Brothers, if you have a word of comfort for the people, say on.
• Acts 15:32 : 32 And Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, gave teaching to the brothers and made them strong in the faith.
• Deut 15:8-9 : 8 But let your hand be open to give him the use of whatever he is in need of. 9 And see that there is no evil thought in your heart, moving you to say to yourself, The seventh year, the year of forgiveness is near; and so looking coldly on your poor countryman you give him nothing; and he will make an outcry to the Lord against you, and it will be judged as sin in you. 10 But it is right for you to give to him, without grief of heart: for because of this, the blessing of the Lord your God will be on all your work and on everything to which you put your hand. 11 For there will never be a time when there are no poor in the land; and so I give orders to you, Let your hand be open to your countrymen, to those who are poor and in need in your land.
• Deut 15:14 : 14 But give him freely from your flock and from your grain and your wine: in the measure of the wealth which the Lord your God has given you, you are to give to him.
• Deut 16:11 : 11 Then you are to be glad before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your man-servant and your woman-servant, and the Levite who is with you, and the man from a strange country, and the child without a father, and the widow, who are living among you, in the place marked out by the Lord your God as a resting-place for his name.
• Deut 16:14-15 : 14 You are to keep the feast with joy, you and your son and your daughter, your man-servant and your woman-servant, and the Levite, and the man from a strange country, and the child without a father, and the widow, who are living among you. 15 Keep the feast to the Lord your God for seven days, in the place marked out by the Lord: because the blessing of the Lord your God will be on all the produce of your land and all the work of your hands, and you will have nothing but joy.
• Job 31:16-20 : 16 If I kept back the desire of the poor; if the widow's eye was looking for help to no purpose; 17 If I kept my food for myself, and did not give some of it to the child with no father; 18 (For I was cared for by God as by a father from my earliest days; he was my guide from the body of my mother;) 19 If I saw one near to death for need of clothing, and that the poor had nothing covering him; 20 If his back did not give me a blessing, and the wool of my sheep did not make him warm;
• Ps 37:21 : 21 The sinner takes money and does not give it back; but the upright man has mercy, and gives to others.
• Ps 101:1-8 : 1 <A Psalm. Of David.> I will make a song of mercy and righteousness; to you, O Lord, will I make melody. 2 I will do wisely in the way of righteousness: O when will you come to me? I will be walking in my house with a true heart. 3 I will not put any evil thing before my eyes; I am against all turning to one side; I will not have it near me. 4 The false heart I will send away from me: I will not have an evil-doer for a friend. 5 I will put to death anyone who says evil of his neighbour secretly; the man with a high look and a heart of pride is disgusting to me. 6 My eyes will be on those of good faith in the land, so that they may be living in my house; he who is walking in the right way will be my servant. 7 The worker of deceit will not come into my house; the false man will have no place before my eyes. 8 Morning by morning will I put to death all the sinners in the land, so that all evil-doers may be cut off from Jerusalem.
• Ps 112:9 : 9 He has given with open hands to the poor; his righteousness is for ever; his horn will be lifted up with honour.
• Prov 22:9 : 9 He who is kind will have a blessing, for he gives of his bread to the poor.
• Eccl 9:10 : 10 Whatever comes to your hand to do with all your power, do it because there is no work, or thought, or knowledge, or wisdom in the place of the dead to which you are going.
• Eccl 11:1-2 : 1 Put out your bread on the face of the waters; for after a long time it will come back to you again. 2 Give a part to seven or even to eight, because you have no knowledge of the evil which will be on the earth.
• Eccl 11:6 : 6 In the morning put your seed into the earth, and till the evening let not your hand be at rest; because you are not certain which will do well, this or that--or if the two will be equally good.
• Isa 32:5 : 5 The foolish man will no longer be named noble, and they will not say of the false man that he is a man of honour.
• Isa 32:8 : 8 But the noble-hearted man has noble purposes, and by these he will be guided.
• Isa 58:7-9 : 7 Is it not to give your bread to those in need, and to let the poor who have no resting-place come into your house? to put a robe on the unclothed one when you see him, and not to keep your eyes shut for fear of seeing his flesh? 8 Then will light be shining on you like the morning, and your wounds will quickly be well: and your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will come after you. 9 Then at the sound of your voice, the Lord will give an answer; at your cry he will say, Here am I. If you take away from among you the yoke, the putting out of the finger of shame, and the evil word; 10 And if you give your bread to those in need of it, so that the troubled one may have his desire; then you will have light in the dark, and your night will be as the full light of the sun: 11 And the Lord will be your guide at all times; in dry places he will give you water in full measure, and will make strong your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like an ever-flowing spring.
• Isa 64:5 : 5 For we have all become like an unclean person, and all our good acts are like a dirty robe: and we have all become old like a dead leaf, and our sins, like the wind, take us away.
• Matt 6:2-4 : 2 When then you give money to the poor, do not make a noise about it, as the false-hearted men do in the Synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Truly, I say to you, They have their reward. 3 But when you give money, let not your left hand see what your right hand does: 4 So that your giving may be in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will give you your reward.
• Matt 25:40 : 40 And the King will make answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Because you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.
• Luke 21:1-4 : 1 And looking up, he saw the men of wealth putting their offerings in the money-box. 2 And he saw a certain poor widow putting in a farthing. 3 And he said, Truly I say to you, This poor widow has given more than all of them: 4 For they gave out of their wealth, having more than enough for themselves: but she, even out of her need, has put in all her living.
• Acts 2:44-46 : 44 And all those who were of the faith kept together, and had all things in common; 45 And exchanging their goods and property for money, they made division of it among them all, as they had need. 46 And day by day, going in agreement together regularly to the Temple and, taking broken bread together in their houses, they took their food with joy and with true hearts,
• Acts 4:33-35 : 33 And with great power the Apostles gave witness of the coming back of the Lord Jesus from the dead; and grace was on them all. 34 And no one among them was in need; for everyone who had land or houses, exchanging them for money, took the price of them, 35 And put it at the feet of the Apostles for distribution to everyone as he had need.
• Acts 11:28-30 : 28 And one of them, named Agabus, said publicly through the Spirit that there would be serious need of food all over the earth: which came about in the time of Claudius. 29 And the disciples, everyone as he was able, made a decision to send help to the brothers living in Judaea: 30 Which they did, sending it to the rulers of the church by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
• Acts 13:12 : 12 Then the ruler, when he saw what was done, had faith, being full of wonder at the teaching of the Lord.
• Acts 20:2 : 2 And when he had gone through those parts and given them much teaching, he came into Greece.
• Acts 20:28 : 28 Give attention to yourselves, and to all the flock which the Holy Spirit has given into your care, to give food to the church of God, for which he gave his blood.
• Rom 12:13 : 13 Giving to the needs of the saints, ready to take people into your houses.
• Rom 13:6 : 6 For the same reason, make payment of taxes; because the authority is God's servant, to take care of such things at all times.
• 1 Cor 14:3 : 3 But the word of the prophet gives men knowledge and comfort and strength.
• 2 Cor 1:12 : 12 For our glory is in this, in the knowledge which we have that our way of life in the world, and most of all in relation to you, has been holy and true in the eyes of God; not in the wisdom of the flesh, but in the grace of God.
• 2 Cor 8:1-9 : 1 And now we give you news, brothers, about the grace of God which has been given to the churches of Macedonia; 2 How while they were undergoing every sort of trouble, and were in the greatest need, they took all the greater joy in being able to give freely to the needs of others. 3 For I give them witness, that as they were able, and even more than they were able, they gave from the impulse of their hearts, 4 Seriously requesting us that they might have a part in this grace of being servants to the needs of the saints: 5 And going even farther than our hope, they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us after the purpose of God. 6 So that we made a request to Titus that, as he had made a start before, so he might make this grace complete in you. 7 And that as you are full of every good thing, of faith, of the word, of knowledge, of a ready mind, and of love to us, so you may be full of this grace in the same way. 8 I am not giving you an order, but using the ready mind of others as a test of the quality of your love. 9 For you see the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how though he had wealth, he became poor on your account, so that through his need you might have wealth.
• 2 Cor 8:12 : 12 For if there is a ready mind, a man will have God's approval in the measure of what he has, and not of what he has not.
• 2 Cor 9:11 : 11 Your wealth being increased in everything, with a simple mind, causing praise to God through us.
• 2 Cor 9:13 : 13 For when, through this work of giving, they see what you are, they give glory to God for the way in which you have given yourselves to the good news of Christ, and for the wealth of your giving to them and to all;
• 2 Cor 11:3 : 3 But I have a fear, that in some way, as Eve was tricked by the deceit of the snake, your minds may be turned away from their simple and holy love for Christ.
• Eph 6:5 : 5 Servants, do what is ordered by those who are your natural masters, having respect and fear for them, with all your heart, as to Christ;
• Col 3:22 : 22 Servants, in all things do the orders of your natural masters; not only when their eyes are on you, as pleasers of men, but with all your heart, fearing the Lord:
• 1 Thess 2:3 : 3 For our witness does not come from error or from an unclean heart or from deceit:
• 1 Thess 2:8 : 8 Even so, being full of loving desire for you, we took delight in giving you not only God's good news, but even our lives, because you were dear to us.
• 1 Thess 5:12-14 : 12 But we make this request to you, my brothers: give attention to those who are working among you, who are over you in the Lord to keep order among you; 13 And have a high opinion of them in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And our desire is that you will keep control over those whose lives are not well ordered, giving comfort to the feeble-hearted, supporting those with little strength, and putting up with much from all.
• 1 Tim 3:4-5 : 4 Ruling his house well, having his children under control with all serious behaviour; 5 (For if a man has not the art of ruling his house, how will he take care of the church of God?)
• 1 Tim 4:13 : 13 Till I come, give attention to the reading of the holy Writings, to comforting the saints, and to teaching.
• Heb 13:7 : 7 Keep in mind those who were over you, and who gave you the word of God; seeing the outcome of their way of life, let your faith be like theirs.
• Heb 13:17 : 17 Give ear to those who are rulers over you, and do as they say: for they keep watch over your souls, ready to give an account of them; let them be able to do this with joy and not with grief, because that would be of no profit to you.
• Heb 13:22 : 22 But, brothers, take kindly the words which I have said for your profit; for I have not sent you a long letter.
• Heb 13:24 : 24 Give words of love from me to those who are rulers over you, and to all the saints. Those who are in Italy send you their love.
• 1 Pet 4:9-9 : 9 Keep open house for all with a glad heart; 10 Making distribution among one another of whatever has been given to you, like true servants of the unmeasured grace of God; 11 If anyone has anything to say, let it be as the words of God; if anyone has the desire to be the servant of others, let him do it in the strength which is given by God; so that in all things God may have the glory through Jesus Christ, whose are the glory and the power for ever.
• Gen 18:19 : 19 For I have made him mine so that he may give orders to his children and those of his line after him, to keep the ways of the Lord, to do what is good and right: so that the Lord may do to Abraham as he has said.
• 1 Pet 5:2-3 : 2 Keep watch over the flock of God which is in your care, using your authority, not as forced to do so, but gladly; and not for unclean profit but with a ready mind; 3 Not as lords over God's heritage, but making yourselves examples to the flock.