Philippians 1–2

CHAPTER 1

Thanksgiving

^1aPaul and ^bTimothy, ^cslaves of ^dChrist Jesus,

To ^eall the ^1fsaints in Christ Jesus who are in ^gPhilippi, with the ^hoverseers and ⁱdeacons:

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

^3aI thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

⁴always offering prayer with joy in ^amy every prayer for you all,

⁵because of your ^1afellowship in the ^bgospel ^cfrom the first day until now.

⁶For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until ^athe day of Christ Jesus.

⁷¹For ^ait is only right for me to think this way about you all, because I ^bhave you in my heart, since both in my ^cchains and in the ^ddefense and confirmation of the ^egospel, you all are fellow partakers with me in this grace.

⁸For ^aGod is my witness, how I long for you all with the ¹affection of ^bChrist Jesus.

⁹And this I pray, that ^ayour love may abound still more and more in ^bfull knowledge and all discernment,

¹⁰so that you may ^1aapprove the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and without fault ²until ^bthe day of Christ,

¹¹having been filled with the ^afruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

The Progress of the Gospel

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances ^ahave turned out for the greater progress of the ^bgospel,

¹³so that my ^achains in Christ have become well known throughout the whole ¹praetorian guard and to ^beveryone else,

¹⁴and that most of the ¹brothers, having become confident in the Lord because of my ^achains, have ^bfar more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

^15aSome, to be sure, are preaching Christ even ¹from envy and strife, but some also ²from good will;

¹⁶the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the ^agospel;

¹⁷the former proclaim Christ ^aout of selfish ambition ¹rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me affliction in my ^bchains.

¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will rejoice,

¹⁹for I know that ^athis will turn out for my salvation ^bthrough your ¹prayers and the provision of ^cthe Spirit of Jesus Christ,

²⁰according to my ^aearnest expectation and ^bhope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with ^call boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be ^dmagnified in my body, ^ewhether by life or by death.

To Live Is Christ

²¹For to me, ^ato live is Christ and to die is gain.

²²¹But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean ^afruitful labor for me; and I do not know what I will choose.

²³But I am hard-pressed ¹between the two, having the ^adesire to depart and ^bbe with Christ, for that is very much better,

²⁴yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

^25aAnd convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy ¹in the faith,

²⁶so that your reason for ^aboasting may abound in Christ Jesus in me, through my coming to you again.

²⁷Only ¹live your lives in a manner ^aworthy of the ^bgospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about your circumstances, that you are ^cstanding firm in ^done spirit, with one ²mind ^econtending together for the faith of the gospel,

²⁸in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a ^asign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.

²⁹For to you ^ait has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to ^bsuffer for His sake,

³⁰having the same ^astruggle which ^byou saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

CHAPTER 2

Christ’s Humility and Exaltation

¹Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any ^afellowship of the Spirit, if any ^1baffection and compassion,

^2afulfill my joy, that ^byou think the same way, by maintaining the same love, being united in spirit, thinking on one purpose,

³doing nothing ¹from ^2aselfish ambition or ^bvain glory, but with humility of mind ^cregarding one another as more important than yourselves,

^4anot merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

^5aHave this way of thinking ¹in yourselves which was also in ^bChrist Jesus,

⁶who, although ^aexisting in the ^bform of God, ^cdid not regard equality with God a thing ¹to be grasped,

⁷but ^1aemptied Himself, by taking the form of a ^bslave, by ^cbeing made in the likeness of men.

⁸Being found in appearance as a man, ^aHe humbled Himself by becoming ^bobedient to the point of death, even ^cdeath ¹on a cross.

^9aTherefore, God also ^bhighly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him ^cthe name which is above every name,

¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus ^aevery knee will bow, of ^bthose who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹and that ^aevery tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ^1bLord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²So then, my beloved, ^ajust as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your ^bsalvation with ^cfear and trembling;

¹³for it is ^aGod who is at work in you, both to will and to work ^bfor His good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all things without ^agrumbling or disputing,

¹⁵so that you will be ^ablameless and innocent, ^bchildren of God without blemish in the midst of a ^ccrooked and perverse generation, among whom you ^dshine as ¹lights in the world,

¹⁶holding ¹fast the word of life, so that in ^athe day of Christ I will have reason to boast because I did not ^brun in vain nor ^clabor in vain.

¹⁷But even if I am being ^apoured out as a drink offering upon ^bthe sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.

¹⁸And you also, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus Sent

¹⁹But I hope in the Lord Jesus to ^asend ^bTimothy to you shortly, so that I also may be in good spirits when I learn of your circumstances.

²⁰For I have no one else ^aof kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned about your circumstances.

²¹For they all ^aseek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

²²But you know ^aof his proven worth, that ^bhe served with me in the furtherance of the gospel ^clike a child serving his father.

^23aTherefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I ¹evaluate my own circumstances,

²⁴and ^aI am confident in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly.

²⁵But I regarded it necessary to send to you ^aEpaphroditus, my brother and ^bfellow worker and ^cfellow soldier, who is also your ^1dmessenger and ^eminister to my need;

²⁶because he was longing ¹for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.

²⁷For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.

²⁸Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned.

^29aReceive him then in the Lord with all joy, and ^bhold men like him in high regard

³⁰because he came close to death ^1afor the work of Christ, risking his life to ^bfulfill ²what was lacking in your service to me.