So when we couldn’t stand it any longer, we thought it best to stay in Athens alone. We sent Timothy, our sibling and God’s deacon in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen y’all and encourage your* faith, so that no one would be shaken by these oppressions. For y’all know that we are destined to this. In fact, when we were with y’all, we were telling y’all in advance that we would be persecuted. And so it happened as y’all well know. For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I sent to find out about y’all’s faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted y’all, and our labor would have been in vain.
An Encouraging Report from Timothy
But Timothy has just now come to us from y’all, and brought us good news of y’all’s faith and love, and that y’all have pleasant memories of us always, longing to see us, even as we also long to see y’all. For this reason, siblings, in all our distress and oppression, we were encouraged about y’all because of y’all’s faith. For now we really live, since y’all are standing firm in the Lord. For how can we thank God enough for y’all in return for all the joy we have before our God because of y’all? Night and day, we pray earnestly that we may see y’all’s face and may complete what is lacking in y’all’s faith.
Now may our God and Father ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to y’all. May the Lord make y’all increase and abound in love for one another and for all people, just as we do for y’all, so that he may strengthen y’all’s hearts to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.