2:1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, 11 any affection or mercy, 12
2:7 but emptied himself
by taking on the form of a slave, 13
by looking like other men, 14
and by sharing in human nature. 15
3:17 Be imitators of me, 18 brothers and sisters, 19 and watch carefully those who are living this way, just as you have us as an example.
1 tn Grk “so that the whole imperial guard.” The ὥστε (Jwste) clause that begins v. 13 indicates two results of the spread of the gospel: Outsiders know why Paul is imprisoned (v. 13) and believers are emboldened by his imprisonment (v. 14).
2 sn The whole imperial guard (Grk “praetorium”) can refer to the elite troops stationed in Rome or the headquarters of administrators in the provinces (cf. Matt 27:27; Mark 15:16; John 18:28, 33; 19:9; Acts 23:35). In either case a metonymy is involved, with the place (the praetorium) put for those (soldiers or government officials) who were connected with it or stationed in it.
3 tn Grk “it has become known by the whole imperial guard and all the rest.”
4 tn Grk “my bonds [are].”
1 tn Grk “flesh.”
2 tn Grk “fruit of work”; the genitive ἔργου (ergou) is taken as an attributed genitive in which the head noun, καρπός (karpos), functions attributively (cf. ExSyn 89-91).
3 tn Grk “what I shall prefer.” The Greek verb αἱρέω (Jairew) could also mean “choose,” but in this context such a translation is problematic for it suggests that Paul could perhaps choose suicide (cf. L&N 30.86).
1 tn Grk “For that which is on behalf of Christ has been granted to you – namely, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.” The infinitive phrases are epexegetical to the subject, τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ (to Juper Cristou), which has the force of “the on-behalf-of-Christ thing,” or “the thing on behalf of Christ.” To translate this in English requires a different idiom.
1 tn Grk “having,” most likely as an instrumental participle. Thus their present struggle is evidence that they have received the gift of suffering.
2 tn Grk “that you saw in me and now hear [to be] in me.”
1 tn Or “spiritual fellowship” if πνεύματος (pneumato") is an attributive genitive; or “fellowship brought about by the Spirit” if πνεύματος is a genitive of source or production.
2 tn Grk “and any affection and mercy.” The Greek idea, however, is best expressed by “or” in English.
1 tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 1:1.
2 tn Grk “by coming in the likeness of people.”
3 tn Grk “and by being found in form as a man.” The versification of vv. 7 and 8 (so also NRSV) is according to the versification in the NA27 and UBS4 editions of the Greek text. Some translations, however, break the verses in front of this phrase (NKJV, NASB, NIV, NLT). The same material has been translated in each case; the only difference is the versification of that material.
1 tn Grk “though I have reason for confidence even in the flesh.”
2 tn Grk “flesh.”
1 tn Or “become fellow imitators with me [of Christ].”
2 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.