^7 (A)I have fought the good fight, ^(B)I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

¹⁸ But ^(A)what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come ^(B)evil thoughts, ^(C)murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^(D)slander. ^20 (E)These are what defile a person. But ^(F)to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

³ For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the ^(A)weapons of ^(B)our warfare are not of the flesh but have ^(C)divine power ^(D)to destroy strongholds. ⁵ We destroy arguments and ^(E)every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to ^(F)obey Christ,

¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, ^(A)blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, ²⁰ loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice ^(B)and holding fast to him, for ^(C)he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in ^(D)the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

^11 (A)For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare^[a] and not for evil, ^(B)to give you a future and a hope.