So, then, even though I did write to you, it was not for the sake of the wrong-doer, or of the man who was wronged, but to make you conscious, in the sight of God, of your own earnest care for us. And it is this that has encouraged us.

And his affection for you is all the greater, as he remembers the deference that you all showed him, and recalls how you received him with anxious care.