Philippians 1
Wycliffe Bible
1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the holy men in Christ Jesus, that be at Philippi, with bishops and deacons,
2 grace and peace to you of God our Father [grace to you and peace of God our Father], and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I do thankings to my God in all mind of you
4 evermore in all my prayers for all you with joy, and make beseeching
5 on your communing in the gospel of Christ, from the first day till now [from the first day unto now];
6 trusting this same thing, that he that began in you a good work, shall perform it till into the day of Jesus Christ.
7 As it is just to me to feel this thing for all you [for you all], for that I have you in heart, and in my bonds, and in defending and confirming of the gospel, that all ye be fellows of my joy.
8 For God is a witness to me, how I covet all you [how I covet you all] in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
9 And this thing I pray, that your charity be plenteous more and more in knowing [that your charity be plenteous more and more in science, or knowing], and in all wit;
10 that ye approve the better things [that ye prove the better things], that ye be clean and without offence in the day of Christ;
11 filled [full-filled] with the fruit of rightwiseness by Jesus Christ, into the glory and praising of God.
12 For, brethren, I will that ye know, that the things that be about me have come more to the profit of the gospel,
13 so that my bonds were made known in Christ, in each moot hall, and in all other places;
14 that more of [the] brethren trusting in the Lord more plenteously for my bonds, durst without dread speak the word of God. [that more of the brethren in the Lord trusting in my bonds, more plenteously durst without dread speak the word of God.]
15 But some for envy and strife, some for good will, preach Christ;
16 and some of charity, witting that I am put in the defence of the gospel.
17 But some of strife [Forsooth some of contention, or strife,] show Christ not cleanly, guessing them(selves) to raise tribulation to my bonds.
18 But what? while on all manner, either by occasion, either by truth, Christ is showed [What soothly? the while on all manner, either by contention, either by truth, Christ is showed]; and in this thing I have joy, but also I shall have joy.
19 And I know, that this thing shall come to me into health by your prayer, and the under-ministering of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 by mine abiding and hope [after mine abiding and hope]. For in nothing I shall be ashamed, but in all trust as evermore and now, Christ shall be magnified in my body, either by life, either by death.
21 For [to] me to live is Christ, and to die is winning.
22 That if to live in flesh, [this] is fruit of work to me, lo! what I shall choose, I know not. [That if to live in flesh, this is fruit of work to me, and what I shall choose, I know not.]
23 But I am constrained of two things, I have desire to be departed [Forsooth I am constrained of two things, having desire to be dissolved, or departed the soul from the body], and to be with Christ, it is much more better;
24 but to dwell in flesh, is needful for you.
25 And I trusting this thing, know that I shall dwell, and perfectly dwell to all you, to your profit and joy of faith,
26 that your thanking abound in Christ Jesus in me, by my coming again to you.
27 Only live ye worthily to the gospel of Christ, that whether when I come and see you, either absent I hear of you [or absent I shall hear of you], that ye stand in one spirit of one will, travailing together to the faith of the gospel.
28 And in nothing be ye afeared of adversaries, which is to them cause of perdition, but to you a cause of health. And this thing is of God.
29 For it is given to you for Christ, that not only ye believe in him, but also that ye suffer for him;
30 having the same strife, which ye saw in me, and now ye have heard of me.
Philippians 1
Easy-to-Read Version
1 Greetings from Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ.
To all of you in Philippi who are God’s holy people in Christ Jesus, including your elders[a] and special servants.
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s Prayer
3 I thank God every time I remember you. 4 And I always pray for all of you with joy. 5 I thank God for the help you gave me while I told people the Good News. You helped from the first day you believed until now. 6 I am sure that the good work God began in you will continue until he completes it on the day when Jesus Christ comes again.
7 I know I am right to think like this about all of you because you are so close to my heart. This is because you have all played such an important part in God’s grace to me—now, during this time that I am in prison, and whenever I am defending and proving the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows that I want very much to see you. I love all of you with the love of Christ Jesus.
9 This is my prayer for you:
that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love; 10 that you will see the difference between what is important and what is not and choose what is important; that you will be pure and blameless for the coming of Christ; 11 that your life will be full of the many good works that are produced by Jesus Christ to bring glory and praise to God.
Paul’s Troubles Help the Lord’s Work
12 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that all that has happened to me has helped to spread the Good News. 13 All the Roman guards and all the others here know that I am in prison for serving Christ. 14 My being in prison has caused most of the believers to put their trust in the Lord and to show more courage in telling people God’s message.
15 Some people are telling the message about Christ because they are jealous and bitter. Others do it because they want to help. 16 They are doing it out of love. They know that God gave me the work of defending the Good News. 17 But those others tell about Christ because of their selfish ambition. Their reason for doing it is wrong. They only do it because they think it will make trouble for me in prison. 18 But that doesn’t matter. What is important is that they are telling people about Christ, whether they are sincere or not. So I am glad they are doing it.
I will continue to be glad, 19 because I know that your prayers and the help the Spirit of Jesus Christ gives me will cause this trouble to result in my freedom.[b] 20 I am full of hope and feel sure I will not have any reason to be ashamed. I am certain I will continue to have the same boldness to speak freely that I always have. I will let God use my life to bring more honor to Christ. It doesn’t matter whether I live or die. 21 To me, the only important thing about living is Christ. And even death would be for my benefit.[c] 22 If I continue living here on earth, I will be able to work for the Lord. But what would I choose—to live or to die? I don’t know. 23 It would be a hard choice. Sometimes I want to leave this life and be with Christ. That would be much better for me; 24 however, you people need me here alive. 25 I am sure of this, so I know that I will stay here and be with you to help you grow and have joy in your faith. 26 When I am there with you again, you will be bursting with pride over what Christ Jesus did to help me.
27 Just be sure you live as God’s people in a way that honors the Good News of Christ. Then if I come and visit you or if I am away from you, I will hear good things about you. I will know that you stand together with the same purpose and that you work together like a team to help others believe the Good News. 28 And you will not be afraid of those who are against you. All of this is proof from God that you are being saved and that your enemies will be lost. 29 God has blessed you in ways that serve Christ. He allowed you to believe in Christ. But that is not all. He has also given you the honor of suffering for Christ. Both of these bring glory to Christ. 30 You saw the difficulties I had to face, and you hear that I am still having troubles. Now you must face them too.
Footnotes
- Philippians 1:1 elders Here, literally, “overseers.” See “elders (New Testament)” in the Word List.
- Philippians 1:19 freedom Or “salvation.”
- Philippians 1:21 death … benefit Paul says that death would be better, because death would bring him nearer to Christ.
2001 by Terence P. Noble
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International