Philippians 1–2

Chapter 1

Thanksgiving

^1aPaul and ^bTimothy, ^cbond-servants of ^dChrist Jesus,

To ^eall the ^1fsaints in Christ Jesus who are in ^gPhilippi, ²including 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,

⁵in view of your ^1aparticipation 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 feel this way about you all, because I ^bhave you in my heart, since both in my ^2cimprisonment and in the ^ddefense and confirmation of the ^egospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.

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 ^breal knowledge and all discernment,

¹⁰so that you may ^1aapprove the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless 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 Gospel Is Preached

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

¹³so that my ^1aimprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole ²praetorian guard and to ^beveryone else,

¹⁴and that most of the ¹brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my ^2aimprisonment, 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 from 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 distress in my ^2bimprisonment.

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 this will turn out for my ¹deliverance ^athrough your ²prayers and the provision of ^bthe 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 ^dexalted 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 ²which to choose.

²³But I am hard-pressed from both directions, 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.

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

²⁶so that your ^aproud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.

²⁷Only conduct yourselves in a manner ^aworthy of the ^bgospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are ^cstanding firm in ^done spirit, with one ¹mind ^estriving 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,

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

Chapter 2

Be Like Christ

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,

^2amake my joy complete ¹by ^bbeing of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

³Do nothing ¹from ^2aselfishness or ^bempty conceit, but with humility of mind ^cregard one another as more important than yourselves;

^4ado not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

^5aHave this attitude ¹in yourselves which was also in ^bChrist Jesus,

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

⁷but ^1aemptied Himself, taking the form of a ^bbond-servant, and ^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.

^9aFor this reason also, God ^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 every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ^aLord, 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 ¹prove yourselves to be ^ablameless and innocent, ^bchildren of God above reproach in the midst of a ^ccrooked and perverse generation, among whom you ^2dappear as ³lights in the world,

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

¹⁸You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹But I hope ¹in the Lord Jesus to ^asend ^bTimothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.

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

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 see how things go with me;

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

²⁵But I thought it necessary to send to you ^aEpaphroditus, my brother and ^bfellow worker and ^cfellow soldier, who is also your ^1dmessenger and minister 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 about you.

^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 ^bcomplete ²what was deficient in your service to me.