Philippians 1

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, servants ▼
▼ Or slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)
 of Christ Jesus,

To all the b saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the c overseers ▼
▼ Or bishops; Greek episkopoi
 and e deacons: ▼
▼ Or servants, or ministers; Greek diakonoi

2  g Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3  h I thank my God i in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5  j because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began k a good work in you l will bring it to completion at m the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you n in my heart, for you are all o partakers with me of grace ▼
▼ Or  you all have fellowship with me in grace
 both q in my imprisonment and in r the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For s God is my witness t how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that u your love may abound more and more v with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, w and so be pure and blameless x for the day of Christ, 11 filled y with the fruit of righteousness that comes z through Jesus Christ aa to the glory and praise of God.

The Advance of the Gospel

12 I want you to know, brothers, ▼
▼ Or  brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God’s family, the church; also verse 14
 that what has happened to me has really ac served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard ▼
▼ Greek in the whole praetorium
 and ae to all the rest that af my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold ag to speak the word ▼
▼ Some manuscripts add of God
 without fear.

15  ai Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, aj knowing that I am put here for ak the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ al out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

To Live Is Christ

Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that am through your prayers and an the help of ao the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope ap that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full aq courage now as always Christ ar will be honored in my body, as whether by life or by death. 21 For to me at to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23  au I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is av to depart and aw be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25  ax Convinced of this ay I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your az progress and ba joy in the faith, 26 so that in me bb you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

27 Only bc let your manner of life be bd worthy ▼
▼ Greek  Only behave as citizens worthy
 of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you bf that you are standing firm in one spirit, with bg one mind bh striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is bi a clear sign to them of their destruction, but bj of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For bk it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also bl suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same bm conflict that bn you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

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