Chap. xviii.--the preacher confesseth his own sinfulness.
Let us also become of the number of them that give thanks, that have served God, and not of the ungodly that are judged. For I myself also, being an utter sinner, 1 2 and not yet escaped from temptation, but still being in the midst of the engines 3 of the devil, give diligence to follow after righteousness, that I may have strength to come even near it, 4 fearing the judgment to come.
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panthamartolo's; occurring only here; but a similar word, parthama'rtetos, occurs in the Teaching, v. 2, Apostolical Constitutions, vii. 18, and Barnabas, xx. ↩
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tois orga'nois; comp. Ignat., Rom., iv., Ante-Nicene Fathers, i. [312]p. 75, where the word is rendered "instruments," and applied to the teeth of the wild beasts in the amphitheatre. Here Lightfoot renders "engines," regarding the metaphor as military. ↩
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The phrase kan hengus auetes implies a doubt of attaining the aim, in accord with the tone of humility which obtains in this chapter. ↩
