3 Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! The Father is a merciful God, who always gives us comfort.
4 He comforts us when we are in trouble, so that we can share that same comfort with others in trouble.
5 We share in the terrible sufferings of Christ, but also in the wonderful comfort he gives.
6 We suffer in the hope that you will be comforted and saved. And because we are comforted, you will also be comforted, as you patiently endure suffering like ours.
7 You never disappoint us. You suffered as much as we did, and we know that you will be comforted as we were.
8 My friends, I want you to know what a hard time we had in Asia. Our sufferings were so horrible and so unbearable that death seemed certain.
9 In fact, we felt sure that we were going to die. But this made us stop trusting in ourselves and start trusting God, who raises the dead to life.