1:12 For our reason for confidence23 is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives24 and sincerity which are from God25—not by human wisdom26 but by the grace of God—we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more27 toward you.
tc Two viable variants exist at this place in the text: ἁγιότητι (hagiotēti, “holiness”) vs. ἁπλότητι (haplotēti, “pure motives”). A confusion of letters could well have produced the variant (TCGNT507): In uncial script the words would have been written ΑΓΙΟΤΗΤΙ and ΑΠΛΟΤΗΤΙ. This, however, does not explain which reading created the other. Overall ἁπλότητι, though largely a Western-Byzantine reading (א2 D F G 𝔐 lat sy), is better suited to the context; it is also a Pauline word while ἁγιότης (hagiotēs) is not. It also best explains the rise of the other variants, πραότητι (praotēti, “gentleness”) and {σπλάγχνοις} (splanchnois, “compassion”). On the other hand, the external evidence in favor of ἁγιότητι is extremely strong (𝔓46א* A B C K P Ψ 0121 0243 33 81 1739 1881 al co). This diversity of mss provides excellent evidence for authenticity, but because of the internal evidence listed above, ἁπλότητι is to be preferred, albeit only slightly.
tn Or “sincerity.” The two terms translated “pure motives” (ἁπλότης, haplotēs) and “sincerity” (εἰλικρίνεια, eilikrineia) are close synonyms.