Though the Mighty One should lay [His] hand upon me, forasmuch as He has begun, verily I will speak, and plead before Him.

For He already knows my way, and He has tried me as gold.

neither shall I transgress; but I have hid His words in my bosom.

Far be it from me that I should justify you till I die! For I will not let go my innocence,

but keeping fast to my righteousness, I will by no means let it go: for I am not conscious to myself of having done anything amiss.

I made a covenant with my eyes, and I will not think upon a virgin.

Alas! Destruction to the unrighteous, and rejection to them that do iniquity!

But if I had gone with scorners, and if my foot too has hastened to deceit:

if my foot has turned aside out of the way, or if my heart has followed my eye, and if I too have touched gifts with my hands;

If my heart has gone forth after another man's wife, and if I laid wait at her doors;

For the rage of anger is not to be controlled, in the case of defiling another man's wife.

And if I also despised the judgment of my servant or my handmaid, when they pleaded with me;

Were not they formed too, as I also was formed in the womb? Yea, we were formed in the same womb.

And if I also ate my morsel alone, and did not impart [of it] to the orphan;

And if I too overlooked the naked as he was perishing, and did not clothe him;

if I lifted my hand against an orphan, trusting that my strength was far superior [to his]:

For the fear of the Lord constrained me, and I cannot bear up by reason of His burden.

and if I also rejoiced when my wealth was abundant, and if I laid my hand on innumerable [treasures]:

and if my heart was secretly deceived, and if I have laid my hand upon my mouth and kissed it:

And if I too was glad at the fall of my enemies, and my heart said, Aha!

And if my handmaids have often said, Oh that we might be satisfied with his flesh; (whereas I was very kind:

or if also having sinned unintentionally, I hid my sin;

(Oh that I had a hearer!) And if I had not feared the hand of the Lord; and as to the written charge which I had against anyone,

And if I did not read it and return it, having taken nothing from the debtor:

and if I ate its strength alone without price, and if I too grieved the heart of the owner of the soil, by taking from [him],

O Lord my God, if I have done this; (if there is unrighteousness in my hands)

Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; and let him trample my life on the ground, and lay my glory in the dust. Pause.

All these things have come upon us; but we have not forgotten You, neither have we dealt unrighteously in Your covenant.

For You have laid us low in a place of affliction, and the shadow of death has covered us.

for He knows the secrets of the heart.

Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before You in truth, with a true heart, and have done that which was pleasing in Your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

And in this I myself am engaging, having a conscience blameless toward God and men through everything.

I am speaking truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience witnessing with me in the Holy Spirit,

For I am conscious of nothing, but I have not been justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.

But let each [person] examine his own work, and then he will have boasting in himself alone, and not in the other.

Now the goal of the commandment is love out of a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,

having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,

of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

Pray for us; for we are persuaded that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live commendably.

having a good conscience, so that in what they speak against you as evildoers, those reviling your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.

which [as] an antitype, baptism now also saves us-(not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but an appeal to God [for] a good conscience), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

And in this we know that we are from the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.

But I fear, lest perhaps as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

For such [people] do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and through smooth speech and flattering, they deceive the hearts of the innocent.

For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I rejoice on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent to what is evil.

For we are not as the rest, corrupting the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

I speak not by a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love by means of the diligence of others.

And now fear the Lord, and serve Him in righteousness and justice; and remove the strange gods, which our fathers served beyond the river, and in Egypt; and serve the Lord.

So then let us observe the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,

in all respects showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, dignity, incorruptibility,

Therefore, when I decided this, did I do it lightly? Or the things I decide, do I decide according to the flesh, that there may be with me "Yes, Yes," and "No, No?"

but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor falsifying the word of God, but by the disclosure of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience before God.

But I beseech [you] that when I am present I may not be bold with the confidence with which I plan to be bold toward some, who consider us as walking according to the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty by God to the pulling down of strongholds,

And I gladly will spend and be expended for your souls; although the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.

Did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you?

Again, do you think that we are defending ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ. But we do all things, beloved, for your edification.

And my message and my preaching [were] not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

in order that your faith might not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

which things we also speak, not in words taught in human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than them all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Is there anyone wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct [that] his works [are] in meekness of wisdom.

This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."