Philippians 1:3

Prayer for the Church

1:3 I thank my God every time I remember you. ¹ 

Philippians 1:8

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

Philippians 4:1-2

Christian Practices

4:1 So then, my brothers and sisters, ²  dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!

4:2 I appeal to Euodia and to Syntyche to agree in the Lord.

Philippians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ³  and Timothy, slaves ⁴  of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, ⁵  with the overseers ⁶  and deacons.

Romans 1:11

1:11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift ⁷  to strengthen you,

Romans 1:2

1:2 This gospel ⁸  he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,

Colossians 1:14

1:14 in whom we have redemption, ⁹  the forgiveness of sins.

[1:3]  ¹ tn This could also be translated “for your every remembrance of me.” See discussion below.

[4:1]  ² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[1:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[1:1]  ⁶ 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.

[1:11]  ⁷ sn Paul does not mean here that he is going to bestow upon the Roman believers what is commonly known as a “spiritual gift,” that is, a special enabling for service given to believers by the Holy Spirit. Instead, this is either a metonymy of cause for effect (Paul will use his own spiritual gifts to edify the Romans), or it simply means something akin to a blessing or benefit in the spiritual realm. It is possible that Paul uses this phrase to connote specifically the broader purpose of his letter, which is for the Romans to understand his gospel, but this seems less likely.

[1:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “the gospel of God, which he promised.” Because of the length and complexity of this sentence in Greek, it was divided into shorter English sentences in keeping with contemporary English style. To indicate the referent of the relative pronoun (“which”), the word “gospel” was repeated at the beginning of v. 2.

[1:14]  ⁹ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.