3 Therefore, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to remain alone in Athens ² and send Timothy, our brother who works with us for God in the gospel of the Messiah,^[a] to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, ³ so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions, for which you are aware that we were destined. ⁴ In fact, when we were with you, we told you ahead of time that we were going to suffer persecution. And as you know, that is what happened. ⁵ But when I could stand it no longer, I sent Timothy^[b] to find out about your faith. I was afraid that the tempter had tempted you in some way, and that our work had been a waste of time.