[2:19] I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you.
[2:20] For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.
[2:21] For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
[2:22] But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.
[2:23] I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me,
[2:24] and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.
[2:25] I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,
[2:26] for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.
[2:27] Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
[2:28] I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.
[2:29] So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men,
[2:30] for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.