¹⁶ I am thankful to God that he has given Titus the same real concern for you that I have. ¹⁷ He is glad to follow my suggestion that he visit you again—but I think he would have come anyway, for he is very eager to see you! ¹⁸ I am sending another well-known brother with him, who is highly praised as a preacher of the Good News in all the churches.

²³ If anyone asks who Titus is, say that he is my partner, my helper in helping you, and you can also say that the other two brothers represent the assemblies here and are splendid examples of those who belong to the Lord.

² For I know how eager you are to do it, and I have boasted to the friends in Macedonia that you were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was this enthusiasm of yours that stirred up many of them to begin helping. ³ But I am sending these men just to be sure that you really are ready, as I told them you would be, with your money all collected; I don’t want it to turn out that this time I was wrong in my boasting about you. ⁴ I would be very much ashamed—and so would you—if some of these Macedonian people come with me, only to find that you still aren’t ready after all I have told them!

¹⁸ When I urged Titus to visit you and sent our other brother with him, did they make any profit? No, of course not. For we have the same Holy Spirit and walk in each other’s steps, doing things the same way.