³² Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other.

¹⁸ They have been a wonderful encouragement to me, as they have been to you. You must show your appreciation to all who serve so well.

²¹ As he left, however, he said, “I will come back later,^[a] God willing.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

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

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.

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.

¹⁵ What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”

⁶ But now Timothy has just returned, bringing us good news about your faith and love. He reports that you always remember our visit with joy and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you. ⁷ So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] because you have remained strong in your faith. ⁸ It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.

⁹ How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence. ¹⁰ Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith.

Paul’s Joy That Christ Is Preached

¹² And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters,^[a] that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. ¹³ For everyone here, including the whole palace guard,^[b] knows that I am in chains because of Christ. ¹⁴ And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers^[c] here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message^[d] without fear.