Do everything without grumbling or arguing,

I have experienced times of need and times of abundance. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment, ¹  whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing.

Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition ¹  or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.

What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, ¹  and I will continue to rejoice,

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

My confident hope ¹  is that I will in no way be ashamed ²  but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die. ³ 

Finally, brothers and sisters, ¹  whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.

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 

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. ¹ 

But our citizenship is in heaven – and we also await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

by holding on to ¹  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.

The ¹  whole imperial guard ²  and everyone else knows ³  that I am in prison ⁴  for the sake of Christ,

And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

I thank my God every time I remember you. ¹ 

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content in any circumstance.

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 ¹ 

so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,

For ¹  it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, ²  since both in my imprisonment ³  and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace ⁴  together with me.

And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight

¹ who though he existed in the form of God ²  did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped,