The Letter of Paul to the

PHILIPPIANS

Chapter 1

Thanksgiving

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

To eall the 1fsaints in Christ Jesus who are in gPhilippi, 2including the hoverseers and ideacons:

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

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

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

5 in view of your 1aparticipation in the bgospel cfrom the first day until now.

6 For 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.

7 1For 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.

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

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

10 so that you may 1aapprove the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless 2until bthe day of Christ;

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

The Gospel Is Preached

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

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

14 and 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.

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

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

17 the former proclaim Christ aout of selfish ambition 1rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my 2bimprisonment.

18 What 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,

19 for I know that this will turn out for my 1deliverance athrough your 2prayers and the provision of bthe Spirit of Jesus Christ,

20 according 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

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

22 1But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean afruitful labor for me; and I do not know 2which to choose.

23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the adesire to depart and bbe with Christ, for that is very much better;

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

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

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

27 Only 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;

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

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

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

Chapter 2

Be Like Christ

1 Therefore 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,

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

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

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

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

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

7 but 1aemptied Himself, taking the form of a bbond-servant, and cbeing made in the likeness of men.

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

9 aFor this reason also, God bhighly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him cthe name which is above every name,

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

11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is aLord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 So 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;

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

14 Do all things without agrumbling or disputing;

15 so 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,

16 holding 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.

17 But 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.

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

Timothy and Epaphroditus

19 But 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.

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

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

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

23 aTherefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me;

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

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

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

27 For 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.

28 Therefore 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.

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

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