2:1
My child, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for an ordeal.
2:2
Be sincere of heart, be steadfast, and do not be alarmed when disaster comes.
2:3
Cling to him and do not leave him, so that you may be honoured at the end of your days.
2:4
Whatever happens to you, accept it, and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient,
2:5
since gold is tested in the fire, and the chosen in the furnace of humiliation.
2:6
Trust him and he will uphold you, follow a straight path and hope in him.
2:7
You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; do not turn aside, for fear you fall.
2:8
You who fear the Lord, trust him, and you will not be robbed of your reward.
2:9
You who fear the Lord, hope for those good gifts of his, everlasting joy and mercy.
2:10
Look at the generations of old and see: whoever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame? Or whoever, steadfastly fearing him, was forsaken? Or whoever called to him and was ignored?
2:11
For the Lord is compassionate and merciful, he forgives sins and saves in the time of distress.
2:12
Woe to faint hearts and listless hands, and to the sinner who treads two paths.
2:13
Woe to the listless heart that has no faith, for such will have no protection.
2:14
Woe to you who have lost the strength to endure; what will you do at the Lord's visitation?
2:15
Those who fear the Lord do not disdain his words, and those who love him keep his ways.
2:16
Those who fear the Lord do their best to please him, and those who love him will find satisfaction in the Law.
2:17
Those who fear the Lord keep their hearts prepared and humble themselves in his presence.
2:18
Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, not into any human clutches; for as his majesty is, so too is his mercy.
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