Paul and Timothy,a servants of Christ Jesus,

To all God’s holy peopleb in Christ Jesus at Philippi,c together with the overseersd and deaconsa:e

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

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 I thank my God every time I remember you.g 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always prayh with joy 5 because of your partnershipi in the gospel from the first dayj until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completionk until the day of Christ Jesus.l

7 It is rightm for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heartn and, whether I am in chainso or defendingp and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testifyq how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

9 And this is my prayer: that your lover may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,s 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,t 11 filled with the fruit of righteousnessu that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Paul’s Chains Advance the Gospel

12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,b that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guardc and to everyone else that I am in chainsv for Christ. 14 And because of my chains,w most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.x

15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.y 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition,z not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.a