Discovery BoxPhilippians 1:27--2:18
Context1:27 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, 1:30 since you are encountering 8 the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing. 9
2:1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, 10 any affection or mercy, 11 2:2 complete my joy and be of the same mind, 12 by having the same love, being united in spirit, 13 and having one purpose. 2:3 Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition 14 or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. 2:4 Each of you should be concerned 15 not only 16 about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. 17 2:5 You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, 18
2:6 19 who though he existed in the form of God 20
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
2:7 but emptied himself
by taking on the form of a slave, 21
by looking like other men, 22
and by sharing in human nature. 23
2:8 He humbled himself,
by becoming obedient to the point of death
– even death on a cross!
2:9 As a result God exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
2:10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow
– in heaven and on earth and under the earth –
2:11 and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father.
2:12 So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, 24 2:13 for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God. 2:14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 2:15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world 25 2:16 by holding on to 26 the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. 2:17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice together with all of you. 2:18 And in the same way you also should be glad and rejoice together with me.
[1:27] 1 tn Grk “live as citizens.” The verb πολιτεύεσθε (politeuesqe) connotes the life of a freeman in a free Roman colony.
[1:27] 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.
[1:27] 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).
[1:28] 4 tn Grk “which is,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 27.
[1:28] 6 tn Grk “this.” The pronoun refers back to “a sign”; thus these words have been repeated for clarity.
[1:29] 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.
[1:30] 8 tn Grk “having,” most likely as an instrumental participle. Thus their present struggle is evidence that they have received the gift of suffering.
[1:30] 9 tn Grk “that you saw in me and now hear [to be] in me.”
[2:1] 10 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] 11 tn Grk “and any affection and mercy.” The Greek idea, however, is best expressed by “or” in English.
[2:2] 12 tn Or “and feel the same way,” “and think the same thoughts.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated “and be of the same mind” to reflect its epexegetical force to the imperative “complete my joy.”
[2:2] 13 tn The Greek word here is σύμψυχοι (sumyucoi, literally “fellow souled”).
[2:3] 14 tn Grk “not according to selfish ambition.” There is no main verb in this verse; the subjunctive φρονῆτε (fronhte, “be of the same mind”) is implied here as well. Thus, although most translations supply the verb “do” at the beginning of v. 3 (e.g., “do nothing from selfish ambition”), the idea is even stronger than that: “Don’t even think any thoughts motivated by selfish ambition.”
[2:4] 15 tn On the meaning “be concerned about” for σκοπέω (skopew), see L&N 27.36.
[2:4] 16 tn The word “only” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the ἀλλὰ καί (alla kai) in the second clause (“but…as well”). The bulk of the Western text dropped the καί, motivated most likely by ascetic concerns.
[2:4] 17 tc The bulk of the Western text (D*,c F G K it) dropped καί (kai) here, most likely due to ascetic concerns. Strong external attestation for its inclusion from excellent witnesses as well as the majority (Ì46 א A B C D2 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï) also marks it as original.
[2:5] 18 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.”
[2:6] 19 sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.
[2:6] 20 sn The Greek term translated form indicates a correspondence with reality. Thus the meaning of this phrase is that Christ was truly God.
[2:7] 21 tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 1:1.
[2:7] 22 tn Grk “by coming in the likeness of people.”
[2:7] 23 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.
[2:12] 24 tn Grk “with fear and trembling.” The Greek words φόβος and τρόμος both imply fear in a negative sense (L&N 25.251 and 16.6 respectively) while the former can also refer to respect and awe for deity (L&N 53.59). Paul’s use of the terms in other contexts refers to “awe and reverence in the presence of God” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 284; see discussion on 282-84). The translation “awe and reverence” was chosen to portray the attitude the believer should have toward God as they consider their behavior in light of God working through Jesus Christ (2:6-11) and in the believer’s life (2:13) to accomplish their salvation.
