Philippians 1:1–26

Greeting

1Paul and Timothy, servants¹ of Christ Jesus,

To all the ^asaints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the ^boverseers² and ^cdeacons:³

^2dGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

^3eI thank my God ^fin all my remembrance of you, ⁴always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ^5gbecause of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶And I am sure of this, that he who began ^ha good work in you ⁱwill bring it to completion at ^jthe day of Jesus Christ. ⁷It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you ^kin my heart, for you are all ^lpartakers with me of grace,⁴ both ^min my imprisonment and in ⁿthe defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸For ^oGod is my witness, ^phow I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹And it is my prayer that ^qyour love may abound more and more, ^rwith knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰so that you may approve what is excellent, ^sand so be pure and blameless ^tfor the day of Christ, ¹¹filled ^uwith the fruit of righteousness that comes ^vthrough Jesus Christ, ^wto the glory and praise of God.

The Advance of the Gospel

¹²I want you to know, brothers,⁵ that what has happened to me has really ^xserved to advance the gospel, ¹³so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard⁶ and ^yto all the rest that ^zmy imprisonment is for Christ. ¹⁴And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold ^ato speak the word⁷ without fear.

^15bSome indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶The latter do it out of love, ^cknowing that I am put here for ^dthe defense of the gospel. ¹⁷The former proclaim Christ ^eout of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸What 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, ¹⁹for I know that ^fthrough your prayers and ^gthe help of ^hthe Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰as it is my eager expectation and hope ⁱthat I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full ^jcourage now as always Christ ^kwill be honored in my body, ^lwhether by life or by death. ²¹For to me ^mto live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²²If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³ⁿI am hard pressed between the two. My desire is ^oto depart and ^pbe with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ^25qConvinced of this, ^rI know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your ^sprogress and ^tjoy in the faith, ²⁶so that in me ^uyou may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.