Philippians 1:1-2

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ¹  and Timothy, slaves ²  of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, ³  with the overseers ⁴  and deacons. 1:2 Grace and peace to you ⁵  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Philippians 1:8

1:8 For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:11

1:11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 2:5

2:5 You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, ⁶ 

Philippians 2:10

2:10 so that at the name of Jesus

every knee will bow

– in heaven and on earth and under the earth –

Philippians 2:21

2:21 Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:21

Final Greetings

4:21 Give greetings to all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers ⁷  with me here send greetings.

Philippians 4:23

4:23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. ⁸ 

Philippians 1:6

1:6 For I am sure of this very thing, ⁹  that the one ¹⁰  who began a good work in ¹¹  you will perfect it ¹²  until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:26

1:26 so that what you can be proud of may increase ¹³  because of me in Christ Jesus, when I come back to you. ¹⁴ 

Philippians 2:19

Models for Ministry

2:19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you.

Philippians 3:14

3:14 with this goal in mind, ¹⁵  I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God ¹⁶  in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

4:19 And my God will supply your every need according to his glorious riches ¹⁷  in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:19

1:19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance ¹⁸  through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:3

3:3 For we are the circumcision, ¹⁹  the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, ²⁰  exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials ²¹ 

Philippians 3:12

Keep Going Forward

3:12 Not that I have already attained this – that is, I have not already been perfected – but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. ²² 

Philippians 4:7

4:7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds ²³  in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:8

3:8 More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! ²⁴  – that I may gain Christ,

[1:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ² tn Traditionally, “servants” or “bondservants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ³ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[1:1]  ⁴ sn The overseers (or “church leaders,” L&N 53.71) is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in Titus 1:6-7 and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between Titus 1:6-7 and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

[1:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[2:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “Have this attitude in/among yourselves which also [was] in Christ Jesus,” or “Have this attitude in/among yourselves which [you] also [have] in Christ Jesus.”

[4:21]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps, “The brothers and sisters” (so TEV, TNIV; cf. NRSV “The friends”; CEV “The Lord’s followers”) If “brothers” refers to Paul’s traveling companions, it is probably that only men are in view (cf. NAB, NLT). Since v. 22 mentions “all the saints,” which presumably includes everyone, it is more probable here that only Paul’s traveling companions are in view.

[4:23]  ¹⁷ tc Most witnesses, including several important ones (Ì⁴⁶ א A D Ψ 33 Ï lat sy bo), have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of this letter, while an impressive combination of Alexandrian and Western mss (B F G 075 6 1739* 1881 sa) lack the valedictory particle. Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Thus, on internal grounds, with sufficient support from external evidence, the preferred reading is the omission of ἀμήν.

[1:6]  ²¹ tn Grk “since I am sure of this very thing.” The verse begins with an adverbial participle that is dependent on the main verb in v. 3 (“I thank”). Paul here gives one reason for his thankfulness.

[1:6]  ²² tn The referent is clearly God from the overall context of the paragraph and the mention of “the day of Christ Jesus” at the end, which would be redundant if Christ were referred to here.

[1:6]  ²³ tn Or “among.”

[1:6]  ²⁴ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[1:26]  ²⁵ tn Grk “your boasting may overflow in Christ Jesus because of me,” or possibly, “your boasting in me may overflow in Christ Jesus.” BDAG 536 s.v. καύχημα 1 translates the phrase τὸ καύχημα ὑμῶν (to kauchma jJumwn) in Phil 1:26 as “what you can be proud of.”

[1:26]  ²⁶ tn Grk “through my coming again to you.”

[3:14]  ²⁹ tn Grk “according to the goal.”

[3:14]  ³⁰ tn Grk “prize, namely, the heavenly calling of God.”

[4:19]  ³³ tn Or “according to the riches of his glory.” The phrase “of his glory” is treated as an attributive genitive in the translation.

[1:19]  ³⁷ tn Or “salvation.” Deliverance from prison (i.e., release) is probably what Paul has in view here, although some take this as a reference to his ultimate release from the body, i.e., dying and being with Christ (v. 23).

[3:3]  ⁴¹ tn There is a significant wordplay here in the Greek text. In v. 2 a rare, strong word is used to describe those who were pro-circumcision (κατατομή, katatomh, “mutilation”; see BDAG 528 s.v.), while in v. 3 the normal word for circumcision is used (περιτομή, peritomh; see BDAG 807 s.v.). Both have τομή (the feminine form of the adjective τομός [tomo"], meaning “cutting, sharp”) as their root; the direction of the action of the former is down or off (from κατά, kata), hence the implication of mutilation or emasculation, while the direction of the action of the latter is around (from περί, peri). The similarity in sound yet wide divergence of meaning between the two words highlights in no uncertain terms the differences between Paul and his opponents.

[3:3]  ⁴² tc The verb λατρεύω (latreuw; here the participial form, λατρεύοντες [latreuonte"]) either takes a dative direct object or no object at all, bearing virtually a technical nuance of “worshiping God” (see BDAG 587 s.v.). In this text, πνεύματι (pneumati) takes an instrumental force (“by the Spirit”) rather than functioning as object of λατρεύοντες. However, the word after πνεύματι is in question, no doubt because of the collocation with λατρεύοντες. Most witnesses, including some of the earliest and best representatives of the Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine texts (א* A B C D² F G 0278^vid 33 1739 1881 Ï co Ambr), read θεοῦ (qeou; thus, “worship by the Spirit of God”). But several other important witnesses (א² D* P Ψ 075 365 1175 lat sy Chr) have the dative θεῷ (qew) here (“worship God by the Spirit”). Ì⁴⁶ is virtually alone in its omission of the divine name, probably due to an unintentional oversight. The dative θεῷ was most likely a scribal emendation intended to give the participle its proper object, and thus avoid confusion about the force of πνεύματι. Although the Church came to embrace the full deity of the Spirit, the NT does not seem to speak of worshiping the Spirit explicitly. The reading θεῷ thus appears to be a clarifying reading. On external and internal grounds, then, θεοῦ is the preferred reading.

[3:3]  ⁴³ tn Grk “have no confidence in the flesh.”

[3:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “that for which I also was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” The passive has been translated as active in keeping with contemporary English style.

[4:7]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “will guard the hearts of you and the minds of you.” To improve the English style, the second occurrence of ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “of you”) has not been translated, since it is somewhat redundant in English.

[3:8]  ⁵³ tn The word here translated “dung” was often used in Greek as a vulgar term for fecal matter. As such it would most likely have had a certain shock value for the readers. This may well be Paul’s meaning here, especially since the context is about what the flesh produces.