2:25 But for now 5 I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, 6 coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger 7 and minister 8 to me in my need. 9
1 tn Grk “gospel, and not only this, but.” Here a new sentence was started in the translation.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the brother mentioned in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn That is, the offering or collection being taken to assist impoverished Christians.
4 tn The words “to help” are not in the Greek text but are implied (see L&N 25.68).
5 tn Grk “But.” The temporal notion (“for now”) is implied in the epistolary aorist (“I have considered”), for Epaphroditus was dispatched with this letter to the Philippians.
6 tn Grk “my brother” instead of “For he is my brother.” Verse 25 constitutes one sentence in Greek, with “my brother…” functioning appositionally to “Epaphroditus.”
7 tn Grk “apostle.”
8 tn The Greek word translated “minister” here is λειτουργός (leitourgo").
9 tn Grk “servant of my need.”