Philippians 1
English Standard Version
Greeting
1 Paul and Timothy, servants[a] of Christ Jesus,
To all the (A)saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the (B)overseers[b] and (C)deacons:[c]
2 (D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 (E)I thank my God (F)in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 (G)because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began (H)a good work in you (I)will bring it to completion at (J)the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you (K)in my heart, for you are all (L)partakers with me of grace,[d] both (M)in my imprisonment and in (N)the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For (O)God is my witness, (P)how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that (Q)your love may abound more and more, (R)with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, (S)and so be pure and blameless (T)for the day of Christ, 11 filled (U)with the fruit of righteousness that comes (V)through Jesus Christ, (W)to the glory and praise of God.
The Advance of the Gospel
12 I want you to know, brothers,[e] that what has happened to me has really (X)served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard[f] and (Y)to all the rest that (Z)my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold (AA)to speak the word[g] without fear.
15 (AB)Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, (AC)knowing that I am put here for (AD)the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ (AE)out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
To Live Is Christ
Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that (AF)through your prayers and (AG)the help of (AH)the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope (AI)that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full (AJ)courage now as always Christ (AK)will be honored in my body, (AL)whether by life or by death. 21 For to me (AM)to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 (AN)I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is (AO)to depart and (AP)be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 (AQ)Convinced of this, (AR)I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your (AS)progress and (AT)joy in the faith, 26 so that in me (AU)you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
27 Only (AV)let your manner of life be (AW)worthy[h] of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you (AX)that you are standing firm in one spirit, with (AY)one mind (AZ)striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is (BA)a clear sign to them of their destruction, but (BB)of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For (BC)it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also (BD)suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same (BE)conflict that (BF)you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
Footnotes
- Philippians 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
- Philippians 1:1 Or bishops; Greek episkopoi
- Philippians 1:1 Or servants, or ministers; Greek diakonoi
- Philippians 1:7 Or you all have fellowship with me in grace
- Philippians 1:12 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verse 14
- Philippians 1:13 Greek in the whole praetorium
- Philippians 1:14 Some manuscripts add of God
- Philippians 1:27 Greek Only behave as citizens worthy
Philippians 1
Christian Standard Bible
Greeting
1 Paul(A) and Timothy,(B) servants of Christ Jesus:
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,(C) including the overseers(D) and deacons.(E)
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you,[a] 4 always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day(F) until now.(G) 6 I am sure of this, that he who started a good work(H) in you[b] will carry it on to completion(I) until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 Indeed, it is right(J) for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart,[c] and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment(K) and in the defense(L) and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness,(M) how deeply I miss all of you(N) with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And I pray this: that your love(O) will keep on growing(P) in knowledge and every kind of discernment,(Q) 10 so that you may approve the things that are superior(R) and may be pure(S) and blameless(T) in the day of Christ,(U) 11 filled with the fruit(V) of righteousness(W) that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory(X) and praise of God.
Advance of the Gospel
12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel,(Y) 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. 14 Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word[d](Z) fearlessly. 15 To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry,(AA) but others out of good will. 16 These preach out of love,(AB) knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition,(AC) not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. 18 What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives(AD) or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice 19 because I know this will lead to my salvation[e](AE) through your prayers and help from the Spirit(AF) of Jesus Christ.(AG) 20 My eager expectation and hope(AH) is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life(AI) or by death.(AJ)
Living Is Christ
21 For me, to live is Christ(AK) and to die is gain.(AL) 22 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful(AM) work(AN) for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. 23 I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ(AO)—which is far better(AP)— 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25 Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,(AQ) 26 so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting(AR) in Christ Jesus(AS) may abound.
27 Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life(AT) worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm(AU) in one(AV) spirit, in one accord,[f] contending together for the faith(AW) of the gospel, 28 not being frightened in any way by your opponents.(AX) This is a sign of destruction for them,(AY) but of your salvation(AZ)—and this is from God. 29 For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe(BA) in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.