Philippians 1:22

1:22 Now if I am to go on living in the body, ¹  this will mean productive work ²  for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer: ³ 

Philippians 2:1

Christian Unity and Christ’s Humility

2:1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, ⁴  any affection or mercy, ⁵ 

Philippians 3:15

3:15 Therefore let those of us who are “perfect” embrace this point of view. ⁶  If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways. ⁷ 

[1:22]  ¹ tn Grk “flesh.”

[1:22]  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).

[1:22]  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).

[2:1]  ⁴ 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.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “and any affection and mercy.” The Greek idea, however, is best expressed by “or” in English.

[3:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “those of us who are ‘perfect’ should think this,” or possibly “those of us who are mature should think this.”

[3:15]  ⁸ tn Grk “reveal this to you.” The referent of the pronoun “this” is the fact that the person is thinking differently than Paul does. This has been specified in the translation with the phrase “the error of your ways”; Paul is stating that God will make it known to these believers when they are not in agreement with Paul.