1. So when we couldn’t stand it any longer, we thought it was a good idea to stay on in Athens by ourselves,
2. and we sent you Timothy, who is our brother and God’s coworker in the good news about Christ. We sent him to strengthen and encourage you in your faithfulness.
3. We didn’t want any of you to be shaken by these problems. You know very well that we were meant to go through this.
4. In fact, when we were with you, we kept on predicting that we were going to face problems exactly like what happened, as you know.
5. That’s why I sent Timothy to find out about your faithfulness when I couldn’t stand it anymore. I was worried that the tempter might have tempted you so that our work would have been a waste of time.
6. Now Timothy has returned to us from you and has given us good news about your faithfulness and love! He says that you always have good memories about us and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you.