²⁰ And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. ²¹ It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. ²² They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.”^[a] And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”

⁷ He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.

Paul’s Change of Plans

¹² We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness^[a] and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you.

¹⁸ When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now ¹⁹ I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews.