1:27 Only conduct yourselves 1 in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that – whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent – I should hear that 2 you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, 3 1:28 and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is 4 a sign of their 5 destruction, but of your salvation – a sign which 6 is from God. 1:29 For it has been granted to you 7 not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him,
1 tn Grk “live as citizens.” The verb πολιτεύεσθε (politeuesqe) connotes the life of a freeman in a free Roman colony.
2 tn Grk “the things concerning you, [namely,] that.” The ὅτι (Joti) clause is appositional to τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν (ta peri Jumwn) and therefore “the things concerning you” was not translated.
3 tn The phrase “the faith of the gospel” could mean one of three things: “the faith that is the gospel” (genitive of apposition), “the faith that originates from the gospel” (genitive of source), or “faith in the gospel” (objective genitive).
4 tn Grk “which is,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 27.
5 tn Grk “to them.”
6 tn Grk “this.” The pronoun refers back to “a sign”; thus these words have been repeated for clarity.
7 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.