Garments of the Priests

28 “Then (A)bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to minister as priest to Me—Aaron, (B)Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. You shall make (C)holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the [a](D)skillful persons (E)whom I have endowed with [b]the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me. These are the garments which they shall make: a [c](F)breastpiece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister as priest to Me. They shall take (G)the gold and the [d]blue and the purple and the scarlet material and the fine linen.

“They shall also make (H)the ephod of gold, of [e]blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of the skillful workman. It shall have two shoulder pieces joined to its two ends, that it may be joined. The skillfully woven band, which is on it, shall be like its workmanship, [f]of the same material: of gold, of [g]blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. You shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone and the names of the remaining six on the [h]other stone, according to their birth. 11 [i]As a jeweler engraves a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel; you shall [j]set them in filigree settings of gold. 12 You shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall (I)bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders (J)for a memorial. 13 (K)You shall make filigree settings of gold, 14 and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them of twisted cordage work, and you shall put the corded chains on the filigree settings.

15 (L)You shall make a [k]breastpiece of judgment, the work of a skillful workman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, of [l]blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen you shall make it. 16 It shall be square and folded double, a span [m]in length and a span [n]in width. 17 You shall [o]mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz and emerald; 18 and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl and an onyx and a jasper; they shall be [p]set in gold filigree. 21 The stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a seal, each (M)according to his name for the twelve tribes. 22 You shall make on the [q]breastpiece chains of twisted cordage work in pure gold. 23 You shall make on the breastpiece two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. 24 You shall put the two cords of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. 25 You shall put the other two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, at the front of it. 26 You shall make two rings of gold and shall place them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on the edge of it, which is toward the inner side of the ephod. 27 You shall make two rings of gold and put them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it close to the place where it is joined, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 They shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a [r]blue cord, so that it will be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece will not come loose from the ephod. 29 Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually. 30 (N)You shall put in the breastpiece of judgment the [s](O)Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord; and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.

31 (P)You shall make the robe of the ephod all of [t]blue. 32 There shall be an opening [u]at its top in the middle of it; around its opening there shall be a binding of woven work, like the opening of a coat of mail, so that it will not be torn. 33 You shall make on its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet material, all around on its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around on the hem of the robe. 35 It shall be on Aaron [v]when he ministers; and [w]its tinkling shall be heard when he enters and [x]leaves the holy place before the Lord, so that he will not die.

36 “You shall also make (Q)a plate of pure gold and shall engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, ‘(R)Holy to the Lord.’ 37 You shall [y]fasten it on a [z]blue cord, and it shall be on the turban; it shall be at the front of the turban. 38 It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall [aa](S)take away the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel consecrate, with regard to all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that (T)they may be accepted before the Lord.

39 “You shall weave (U)the tunic of checkered work of fine linen, and shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash, the work of a [ab]weaver.

40 “For Aaron’s sons you shall make (V)tunics; you shall also make sashes for them, and you shall make [ac](W)caps for them, for glory and for beauty. 41 You shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him; and you shall (X)anoint them and [ad]ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve Me as priests. 42 You shall make for them (Y)linen breeches to cover their bare flesh; they shall [ae]reach from the loins even to the thighs. 43 They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or (Z)when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, so that they do not incur [af]guilt and die. (AA)It shall be a statute forever to him and to his [ag]descendants after him.

Consecration of the Priests

29 (AB)Now this is [ah]what you shall do to them to consecrate them to minister as priests to Me: take one young bull and two rams without blemish, and (AC)unleavened bread and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers [ai]spread with oil; you shall make them of fine wheat flour. You shall put them in one basket, and present them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams. Then (AD)you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. You shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the (AE)tunic and (AF)the robe of the ephod and (AG)the ephod and (AH)the [aj]breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully (AI)woven band of the ephod; and you shall set the (AJ)turban on his head and put (AK)the holy crown on the turban. Then you shall take (AL)the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. You shall bring his sons and put (AM)tunics on them. You shall gird them with (AN)sashes, Aaron and his sons, and bind [ak]caps on them, and they shall have (AO)the priesthood by a perpetual statute. So you shall [al](AP)ordain Aaron and his sons.

The Sacrifices

10 “Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall (AQ)lay their hands on the head of the bull. 11 You shall slaughter the bull before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 12 You shall (AR)take some of the blood of the bull and put it on (AS)the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. 13 You shall (AT)take all the fat that covers the entrails and the [am]lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and offer them up in smoke on the altar. 14 But (AU)the flesh of the bull and its hide and its refuse, you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

15 (AV)You shall also take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram; 16 and you shall slaughter the ram and shall take its blood and sprinkle it around on the altar. 17 Then you shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them [an]with its pieces and [ao]its head. 18 You shall offer up in smoke the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the Lord: (AW)it is a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.

19 “Then (AX)you shall take the [ap]other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. 20 You shall slaughter the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the lobes of his sons’ right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet, and sprinkle the rest of the blood around on the altar. 21 Then you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the (AY)anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments and on his sons and on his sons’ garments with him; so he and his garments shall be consecrated, as well as his sons and his sons’ garments with him.

22 “You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail, and the fat that covers the entrails and the [aq]lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them and the right thigh (for it is a ram of [ar]ordination), 23 and one cake of bread and (AZ)one cake of bread mixed with oil and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread which is set before the Lord; 24 and you shall put [as]all these [at]in the [au]hands of Aaron and [av]in the [aw]hands of his sons, and shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. 25 (BA)You shall take them from their hands, and offer them up in smoke on the altar on the burnt offering for a soothing aroma before the Lord; it is an offering by fire to the Lord.

26 “Then you shall take (BB)the breast of Aaron’s ram of [ax]ordination, and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord; and it shall be your portion. 27 You shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering which was waved and which was [ay]offered from the ram of [az]ordination, from the one which was for Aaron and from the one which was for his sons. 28 It shall be for Aaron and his sons as their portion forever from the sons of Israel, for it is a heave offering; and it shall be a heave offering from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, even their heave offering to the Lord.

29 (BC)The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, [ba]that in them they may be anointed and ordained. 30 For seven days the one of his sons who is priest in his stead shall put them on when he enters the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.

Food of the Priests

31 “You shall take the ram of [bb]ordination and (BD)boil its flesh in a holy place. 32 Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket, at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 33 Thus (BE)they shall eat [bc]those things by which atonement was made [bd]at their ordination and consecration; but a [be](BF)layman shall not eat them, because they are holy. 34 (BG)If any of the flesh of [bf]ordination or any of the bread remains until morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

35 “Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; you shall [bg]ordain them through (BH)seven days. 36 (BI)Each day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall [bh]purify the altar when you make atonement [bi]for it, and (BJ)you shall anoint it to consecrate it. 37 For seven days you shall make atonement [bj]for the altar and consecrate it; then (BK)the altar shall be most holy, and whatever touches the altar shall be holy.

38 “Now (BL)this is what you shall offer on the altar: two one year old lambs each day, continuously. 39 The (BM)one lamb you shall offer in the morning and the [bk]other lamb you shall offer at [bl]twilight; 40 and there shall be one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering with one lamb. 41 The [bm]other lamb you shall offer at [bn]twilight, and shall offer with it [bo]the same grain offering and [bp]the same drink offering as in the morning, for a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. 42 It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the tent of meeting before the Lord, (BN)where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. 43 I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory. 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to minister as priests to Me. 45 (BO)I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. 46 They shall know that (BP)I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God.

The Altar of Incense

30 “Moreover, you shall make (BQ)an altar as a place for burning incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. Its length shall be a [bq]cubit, and its width a cubit, it shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits; its horns shall be [br]of one piece with it. You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and its [bs]sides all around, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding all around for it. You shall make two gold rings for it under its molding; you shall make them on its two side walls—on [bt]opposite sides—and [bu]they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. You shall put [bv]this altar in front of the veil that is [bw]near the ark of the testimony, in front of the [bx](BR)mercy seat that is over the ark of the testimony, where I will meet with you. Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it; he shall burn it every morning when he trims the lamps. When Aaron [by]trims the lamps at [bz]twilight, he shall burn incense. There shall be perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. You shall not offer any strange incense on [ca]this altar, or burnt offering or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it. 10 Aaron shall (BS)make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

11 The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “When you take (BT)a [cb]census of the sons of Israel [cc]to number them, then each one of them shall give (BU)a ransom for [cd]himself to the Lord, when you [ce]number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you [cf]number them. 13 This is what everyone who [cg]is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary ((BV)the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a [ch]contribution to the Lord. 14 Everyone who [ci]is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the [cj]contribution to the Lord. 15 The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the [ck]contribution to the Lord to make atonement for [cl]yourselves. 16 You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for [cm]yourselves.”

17 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “You shall also make (BW)a laver of [cn]bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall (BX)put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons shall (BY)wash their hands and their feet from it; 20 when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the Lord. 21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and (BZ)it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for [co]Aaron and his [cp]descendants throughout their generations.”

The Anointing Oil

22 Moreover, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred and fifty, and of fragrant cane two hundred and fifty, 24 and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin. 25 You shall make [cq]of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be (CA)a holy anointing oil. 26 With it (CB)you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand. 29 You shall also consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy. 30 (CC)You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister as priests to Me. 31 You shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be poured on [cr]anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in [cs]the same proportions; (CD)it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 (CE)Whoever shall mix any like it or whoever puts any of it on a [ct]layman [cu](CF)shall be cut off from his people.’”

The Incense

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each. 35 With it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. 36 You shall beat some of it very fine, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting (CG)where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you. 37 The incense which you shall make, (CH)you shall not make in [cv]the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord. 38 (CI)Whoever shall make any like it, to [cw]use as perfume, [cx]shall be cut off from his people.”

The Skilled Craftsmen

31 (CJ)Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the (CK)son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have (CL)filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of [cy]craftsmanship, to [cz]make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in [da]bronze, and in the cutting of stones [db]for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of [dc]craftsmanship. And behold, I Myself have [dd]appointed with him (CM)Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are [de]skillful I have put [df]skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you: (CN)the tent of meeting, and (CO)the ark of testimony, and (CP)the [dg]mercy seat upon it, and all the furniture of the tent, (CQ)the table also and its [dh]utensils, and the (CR)pure gold lampstand with all its [di]utensils, and (CS)the altar of incense, (CT)the altar of burnt offering also with all its [dj]utensils, and (CU)the laver and its stand, 10 the [dk](CV)woven garments as well, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, with which to [dl]carry on their priesthood; 11 (CW)the anointing oil also, and the (CX)fragrant incense for the holy place, they are to make them according to all that I have commanded you.”

The Sign of the Sabbath

12 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 13 “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘(CY)You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is (CZ)a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 14 Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. (DA)Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15 (DB)For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a (DC)sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; (DD)whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. 16 So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to [dm]celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’ 17 (DE)It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; (DF)for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”

18 When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses (DG)the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, (DH)written by the finger of God.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 28:3 Lit wise of heart
  2. Exodus 28:3 I.e. artistic skill
  3. Exodus 28:4 Or pouch
  4. Exodus 28:5 Or violet
  5. Exodus 28:6 Or violet
  6. Exodus 28:8 Lit from it
  7. Exodus 28:8 Or violet
  8. Exodus 28:10 Lit second
  9. Exodus 28:11 Lit A work of a lapidary, engravings of a seal
  10. Exodus 28:11 Lit make them to be surrounded
  11. Exodus 28:15 Or pouch
  12. Exodus 28:15 Or violet
  13. Exodus 28:16 Lit its
  14. Exodus 28:16 Lit its
  15. Exodus 28:17 Lit fill in a setting of stones, four rows of stones
  16. Exodus 28:20 Lit interwoven with gold in their settings
  17. Exodus 28:22 Or pouch, and so through v 30
  18. Exodus 28:28 Or violet
  19. Exodus 28:30 I.e. lights and perfections
  20. Exodus 28:31 Or violet
  21. Exodus 28:32 Or for his head
  22. Exodus 28:35 Lit for ministering
  23. Exodus 28:35 Lit its sound
  24. Exodus 28:35 Lit comes out from
  25. Exodus 28:37 Lit place
  26. Exodus 28:37 Or violet
  27. Exodus 28:38 Or bear
  28. Exodus 28:39 Lit variegator; i.e. a weaver in colors
  29. Exodus 28:40 Lit headgear
  30. Exodus 28:41 Lit fill their hand
  31. Exodus 28:42 Lit be
  32. Exodus 28:43 Or iniquity
  33. Exodus 28:43 Lit seed
  34. Exodus 29:1 Lit the thing which
  35. Exodus 29:2 Or anointed
  36. Exodus 29:5 Or pouch
  37. Exodus 29:9 Lit headgear
  38. Exodus 29:9 Lit fill the hand of
  39. Exodus 29:13 Or appendage on
  40. Exodus 29:17 Lit on
  41. Exodus 29:17 Lit on its
  42. Exodus 29:19 Lit second
  43. Exodus 29:22 Or appendage on
  44. Exodus 29:22 Lit filling
  45. Exodus 29:24 Lit the whole
  46. Exodus 29:24 Lit on
  47. Exodus 29:24 Lit palms
  48. Exodus 29:24 Lit on
  49. Exodus 29:24 Lit palms
  50. Exodus 29:26 Lit filling
  51. Exodus 29:27 Lit heaved; or lifted up
  52. Exodus 29:27 Lit filling
  53. Exodus 29:29 Lit for anointing in them and filling their hand in them
  54. Exodus 29:31 Lit filling
  55. Exodus 29:33 Lit them
  56. Exodus 29:33 Lit to fill their hand to sanctify them
  57. Exodus 29:33 Lit stranger
  58. Exodus 29:34 Lit filling
  59. Exodus 29:35 Lit fill their hand
  60. Exodus 29:36 Or offer a sin offering on the altar
  61. Exodus 29:36 Lit upon
  62. Exodus 29:37 Lit upon
  63. Exodus 29:39 Lit second
  64. Exodus 29:39 Lit between the two evenings
  65. Exodus 29:41 Lit second
  66. Exodus 29:41 Lit between the two evenings
  67. Exodus 29:41 Lit according to the grain offering of the morning
  68. Exodus 29:41 Lit according to its
  69. Exodus 30:2 I.e. One cubit equals approx 18 in.
  70. Exodus 30:2 Lit from itself
  71. Exodus 30:3 Lit walls
  72. Exodus 30:4 Lit its two
  73. Exodus 30:4 Lit it
  74. Exodus 30:6 Lit it
  75. Exodus 30:6 Lit upon or over
  76. Exodus 30:6 Lit propitiatory
  77. Exodus 30:8 Lit causes to ascend
  78. Exodus 30:8 Lit between the two evenings
  79. Exodus 30:9 Lit it
  80. Exodus 30:12 Lit sum
  81. Exodus 30:12 Lit for their being mustered
  82. Exodus 30:12 Lit his soul
  83. Exodus 30:12 Lit muster
  84. Exodus 30:12 Lit muster
  85. Exodus 30:13 Lit passes over to those who are mustered
  86. Exodus 30:13 Lit heave offering
  87. Exodus 30:14 V 13, note 1
  88. Exodus 30:14 Lit heave offering of the Lord
  89. Exodus 30:15 Lit heave offering of the Lord
  90. Exodus 30:15 Lit your souls
  91. Exodus 30:16 Lit your souls
  92. Exodus 30:18 Or copper
  93. Exodus 30:21 Lit him
  94. Exodus 30:21 Lit seed
  95. Exodus 30:25 Lit it
  96. Exodus 30:32 Lit the flesh of man
  97. Exodus 30:32 Lit its proportion
  98. Exodus 30:33 Lit stranger
  99. Exodus 30:33 Lit even he shall
  100. Exodus 30:37 Lit its proportion
  101. Exodus 30:38 Lit smell of it
  102. Exodus 30:38 Lit even he shall
  103. Exodus 31:3 Or workmanship
  104. Exodus 31:4 Lit devise devices
  105. Exodus 31:4 Or copper
  106. Exodus 31:5 Lit to fill in (for a setting)
  107. Exodus 31:5 Or workmanship
  108. Exodus 31:6 Lit given
  109. Exodus 31:6 Lit wise of heart
  110. Exodus 31:6 Lit wisdom
  111. Exodus 31:7 Lit propitiatory
  112. Exodus 31:8 Or vessels
  113. Exodus 31:8 Or vessels
  114. Exodus 31:9 Or vessels
  115. Exodus 31:10 Or service garments
  116. Exodus 31:10 Lit minister as priests
  117. Exodus 31:16 Lit do

Be Like Christ

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any (A)fellowship of the Spirit, if any [a](B)affection and compassion, (C)make my joy complete [b]by (D)being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing [c]from [d](E)selfishness or (F)empty conceit, but with humility of mind (G)regard one another as more important than yourselves; (H)do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (I)Have this attitude [e]in yourselves which was also in (J)Christ Jesus, who, although He (K)existed in the (L)form of God, (M)did not regard equality with God a thing to be [f]grasped, but [g](N)emptied Himself, taking the form of a (O)bond-servant, and (P)being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, (Q)He humbled Himself by becoming (R)obedient to the point of death, even (S)death [h]on a cross. (T)For this reason also, God (U)highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him (V)the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus (W)every knee will bow, of (X)those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is (Y)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 So then, my beloved, (Z)just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your (AA)salvation with (AB)fear and trembling; 13 for it is (AC)God who is at work in you, both to will and to work (AD)for His good pleasure.

14 Do all things without (AE)grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will [i]prove yourselves to be (AF)blameless and innocent, (AG)children of God above reproach in the midst of a (AH)crooked and perverse generation, among whom you [j](AI)appear as [k]lights in the world, 16 holding [l]fast the word of life, so that in (AJ)the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not (AK)run in vain nor (AL)toil in vain. 17 But even if I am being (AM)poured out as a drink offering upon (AN)the 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 [m]in the Lord Jesus to (AO)send (AP)Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else (AQ)of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all (AR)seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know (AS)of his proven worth, that (AT)he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel (AU)like a child serving his father. 23 (AV)Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; 24 and (AW)I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly. 25 But I thought it necessary to send to you (AX)Epaphroditus, my brother and (AY)fellow worker and (AZ)fellow soldier, who is also your [n](BA)messenger and (BB)minister to my need; 26 because he was longing [o]for 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 (BC)Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and (BD)hold men like him in high regard; 30 because he came close to death [p](BE)for the work of Christ, risking his life to (BF)complete [q]what was deficient in your service to me.

Footnotes

  1. Philippians 2:1 Lit inward parts
  2. Philippians 2:2 Lit that you be
  3. Philippians 2:3 Lit according to
  4. Philippians 2:3 Or contentiousness
  5. Philippians 2:5 Or among
  6. Philippians 2:6 I.e. utilized or asserted
  7. Philippians 2:7 I.e. laid aside His privileges
  8. Philippians 2:8 Lit of
  9. Philippians 2:15 Or become
  10. Philippians 2:15 Or shine
  11. Philippians 2:15 Or luminaries, stars
  12. Philippians 2:16 Or forth
  13. Philippians 2:19 Or trusting in
  14. Philippians 2:25 Lit apostle
  15. Philippians 2:26 One early ms reads to see you all
  16. Philippians 2:30 Lit because of
  17. Philippians 2:30 Lit your deficiency of service