26. I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill.
27. And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.
28. So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you.
29. Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve.
30. For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.