¹³ Then say to the Lord your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them.^(A)

ר Resh

¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them,^(A) how can the love of God be in that person?^{(B) 18} Dear children,^(C) let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.^(D)

¹⁹ This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰ If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹ Dear friends,^(E) if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God^{(F) 22} and receive from him anything we ask,^(G) because we keep his commands^(H) and do what pleases him.^(I)

¹⁰ You are witnesses,^(A) and so is God,^(B) of how holy,^(C) righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.

³¹ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever,^(A) knows^(B) that I am not lying.

Paul’s Change of Plans

¹² Now this is our boast: Our conscience^(A) testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity^[a](B) and godly sincerity.^(C) We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom^(D) but on God’s grace.

¹⁶ So I strive always to keep my conscience clear^(A) before God and man.