1:4a

Recalling your tears: Paul mentioned that Timothy wept. This probably refers to the last time that they were together just before Paul went to prison.

1:4b

I long to see you: To long to see someone means “to strongly desire to see” that person. Paul was lonely in prison and missed Timothy. He hoped that Timothy could come to Rome and visit him.

1:4c

so that I may be filled with joy: Paul would be very happy when Timothy came to see him. In some languages, people do not use the verb phrase be filled with to describe a person’s feelings. If this is the case in your language, you could translate be filled with as: “I know that you will cause me to be very happy.”

joy: The word joy is emphasized in the Greek text. This emphasis is shown in the Display by using the words “great/much” before joy, or “very” before “happy.”

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.