⁴ But you who clung fast to the Lord your God are alive, every one of you, this day.

⁵ Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land which you are entering to possess.

⁶ So keep them and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

⁷ For what great nation is there who has a god so near to them as the Lord our God is to us in all things for which we call upon Him?

⁸ And what large and important nation has statutes and ordinances so upright and just as all this law which I set before you today?

⁹ Only take heed, and guard your life diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your [mind and] heart all the days of your life. Teach them to your children and your children’s children—

¹⁰ Especially how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, the Lord said to me, Gather the people together to Me and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn [reverently] to fear Me all the days they live upon the earth and that they may teach their children.

¹¹ And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick gloom.

¹² And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the voice of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.

¹³ And He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments, and He wrote them on two tables of stone.

¹⁴ And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you the statutes and precepts, that you might do them in the land which you are going over to possess.

¹⁵ Therefore take good heed to yourselves, since you saw no form of Him on the day the Lord spoke to you on Horeb out of the midst of the fire,

¹⁶ Beware lest you become corrupt by making for yourselves [to worship] a graven image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

¹⁷ The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, or of any winged fowl that flies in the air,

¹⁸ The likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, or of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth.

¹⁹ And beware lest you lift up your eyes to the heavens, and when you see the sun, moon, and stars, even all the host of the heavens, you be drawn away and worship them and serve them, things which the Lord your God has allotted to all nations under the whole heaven.

²⁰ But the Lord has taken you and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to Him a people of His own possession, as you are this day.

²¹ Furthermore the Lord was angry with me because of you, and He swore that I should not go over the Jordan and that I should not enter the good land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance.

²² But I must die in this land; I must not cross the Jordan; but you shall go over and possess that good land.

²³ Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you.

²⁴ For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

¹⁷ In the twelfth year [after King Jehoiachin of Judah was taken into exile], on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

¹⁸ Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt and cast them down, even her and the daughters of the famous and majestic nations, to the netherworld, with those who go down to the pit;

¹⁹ Whom [among them] do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid with the uncircumcised (the heathen).

²⁰ They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword; she [Egypt] is delivered to the sword; they draw her down [to her judgment], and all her multitudes [with their noise and stores].

²¹ The strong among the mighty shall speak of [Pharaoh] out of the midst of Sheol (the place of the dead, the netherworld) with those who helped him; they are gone down; they lie still, even the uncircumcised (the heathen) slain by the sword.

²² Assyria is there and all her company; their graves are round about her, all of them slain, fallen by the sword,

²³ Whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit and whose company is round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror to spread in the land of the living.

²⁴ Elam [an auxiliary of Assyria] is there and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised into the netherworld, who caused their terror to spread in the land of the living and have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit.

²⁵ They have set her a bed (a sepulcher) among the slain with all her multitude—their graves round about her, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living, and they henceforth bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid in the midst of the slain.

²⁶ Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude are there; their graves are round about [Pharaoh], all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for they caused their terror to be spread in the land of the living.

²⁷ And they shall not lie with the mighty who have fallen of the uncircumcised [and] who have gone down to Sheol (the place of the dead, the netherworld) with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid [with honors] under their heads and whose iniquities are upon their bones, for they caused their terror to spread in the land of the living.

²⁸ But you [Meshech and Tubal] shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised and shall lie [without honors] with those who are slain with the sword.

²⁹ Edom is there, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who were slain by the sword; they shall lie with the ^[a]uncircumcised (the heathen) and with those who go down to the pit.

³⁰ The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down with the slain; for all the terror which they caused by their might they are put to shame, and they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword and henceforth bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

³¹ When Pharaoh sees them, he will comfort himself for all his multitude—even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, says the Lord God.

³² For I have put his and My terror in the land of the living, and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised (the heathen) with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord God.^(A)

1 Paul and Timothy, bond servants of Christ Jesus (the Messiah), to all the saints (God’s consecrated people) in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the bishops (overseers) and deacons (assistants):

² Grace (favor and blessing) to you and [heart] peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

³ I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.

⁴ In every prayer of mine I always make my entreaty and petition for you all with joy (delight).

⁵ [I thank my God] for your fellowship (your ^[a]sympathetic cooperation and contributions and partnership) in advancing the good news (the Gospel) from the first day [you heard it] until now.

⁶ And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.

⁷ It is right and appropriate for me to have this confidence and feel this way about you all, because ^[b]you have me in your heart and I hold you in my heart as partakers and sharers, one and all with me, of grace (God’s unmerited favor and spiritual blessing). [This is true] both when I am shut up in prison and when I am out in the defense and confirmation of the good news (the Gospel).

⁸ For God is my witness how I long for and ^[c]pursue you all with love, in the tender mercy of Christ Jesus [Himself]!

⁹ And this I pray: that your love may abound yet more and more and extend to its fullest development in knowledge and all keen insight [that your love may ^[d]display itself in greater depth of acquaintance and more comprehensive discernment],

¹⁰ So that you may surely learn to sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real value [recognizing the highest and the best, and distinguishing the moral differences], and that you may be untainted and pure and unerring and blameless [so that with hearts sincere and certain and unsullied, you may approach] the day of Christ [not stumbling nor causing others to stumble].

¹¹ May you abound in and be filled with the fruits of righteousness (of right standing with God and right doing) which come through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One), to the honor and praise of God [^[e]that His glory may be both manifested and recognized].

¹² Now I want you to know and continue to rest assured, brethren, that what [has happened] to me [this imprisonment] has actually only served to advance and give a renewed impetus to the [spreading of the] good news (the Gospel).

¹³ So much is this a fact that throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest [here] my imprisonment has become generally known to be in Christ [that I am a prisoner in His service and for Him].

¹⁴ And [also] most of the brethren have derived fresh confidence in the Lord because of my chains and are much more bold to speak and publish fearlessly the Word of God [acting with more freedom and indifference to the consequences].

¹⁵ Some, it is true, [actually] preach Christ (the Messiah) [for no better reason than] out of envy and rivalry (party spirit), but others are doing so out of a loyal spirit and goodwill.

^16 [f]The latter [proclaim Christ] out of love, because they recognize and know that I am [providentially] put here for the defense of the good news (the Gospel).

^17 [g]But the former preach Christ out of a party spirit, insincerely [out of no pure motive, but thinking to annoy me], supposing they are making my bondage more bitter and my chains more galling.

¹⁸ But what does it matter, so long as either way, whether in pretense [for personal ends] or in all honesty [for the furtherance of the Truth], Christ is being proclaimed? And in that I [now] rejoice, yes, and I shall rejoice [hereafter] also.

¹⁹ For I am well assured and indeed know that through your prayers and a ^[h]bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) this will turn out for my preservation (for the spiritual health and ^[i]welfare of my own soul) and avail toward the saving work of the Gospel.

²⁰ This is in keeping with my own eager desire and persistent expectation and hope, that I shall not disgrace myself nor be put to shame in anything; but that with the utmost freedom of speech and unfailing courage, now as always heretofore, Christ (the Messiah) will be magnified and get glory and praise in this body of mine and be boldly exalted in my person, whether through (by) life or through (by) death.

²¹ For me to live is Christ [His life in me], and to die is gain [the gain of the glory of eternity].

²² If, however, it is to be life in the flesh and I am to live on here, that means fruitful service for me; so I can say nothing as to my personal preference [I cannot choose],

²³ But I am hard pressed between the two. My yearning desire is to depart (to be free of this world, to set forth) and be with Christ, for that is far, far better;

²⁴ But to remain in my body is more needful and essential for your sake.

²⁵ Since I am convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and stay by you all, to promote your progress and joy in believing,