⁷ Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.

¹³ We have been greatly encouraged by this.

In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was about the way all of you welcomed him and set his mind^[a] at ease.

⁹ How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence.

⁴ I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles.

³ Some of the traveling teachers^[a] recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. ⁴ I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.

Caring for the Lord’s Workers

⁵ Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. ⁶ They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God.

²⁰ Yes, my brother, please do me this favor^[a] for the Lord’s sake. Give me this encouragement in Christ.

¹⁹ After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you!

Live in the Truth

⁴ How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded.

¹⁶ May the Lord show special kindness to Onesiphorus and all his family because he often visited and encouraged me. He was never ashamed of me because I was in chains.

¹³ Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.