Philippians 2

GOD’S WORD Translation

Have the Same Attitude as Christ

2 So then, as Christians, do you have any encouragement? Do you have any comfort from love? Do you have any spiritual relationships? Do you have any sympathy and compassion? ²Then fill me with joy by having the same attitude and the same love, living in harmony, and keeping one purpose in mind. ³Don’t act out of selfish ambition or be conceited. Instead, humbly think of others as being better than yourselves. ⁴Don’t be concerned only about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others. ⁵Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶Although he was in the form of God and equal with God,
he did not take advantage of this equality.
⁷Instead, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant,
by becoming like other humans,
by having a human appearance.
⁸He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
death on a cross.
⁹This is why God has given him an exceptional honor—
the name honored above all other names—
¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth,
and in the world below will kneel
¹¹and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father.

¹²My dear friends, you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you but even more now that I’m absent. In the same way continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. ¹³It is God who produces in you the desires and actions that please him.

¹⁴Do everything without complaining or arguing. ¹⁵Then you will be blameless and innocent. You will be God’s children without any faults among people who are crooked and corrupt. You will shine like stars among them in the world ¹⁶as you hold firmly to the word of life. Then I can brag on the day of Christ that my effort was not wasted and that my work produced results. ¹⁷My life is being poured out as a part of the sacrifice and service ⌞I offer to God⌟ for your faith. Yet, I am filled with joy, and I share that joy with all of you. ¹⁸For this same reason you also should be filled with joy and share that joy with me.

Paul Will Send Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹I hope that the Lord Jesus will allow me to send Timothy to you soon so that I can receive some encouraging news about you. ²⁰I don’t have anyone else like Timothy. He takes a genuine interest in your welfare. ²¹Everyone else looks after his own interests, not after those of Jesus Christ. ²²But you know what kind of person Timothy proved to be. Like a father and son we worked hard together to spread the Good News. ²³I hope to send him as soon as I see how things are going to turn out for me. ²⁴But the Lord gives me confidence that I will come ⌞to visit you⌟ soon.

²⁵I feel that I must send Epaphroditus—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier—back to you. You sent him as your personal representative to help me in my need. ²⁶He has been longing to see all of you and is troubled because you heard that he was sick. ²⁷Indeed, he was so sick that he almost died. But God had mercy not only on him but also on me and kept me from having one sorrow on top of another. ²⁸So I’m especially eager to send him to you. In this way you will have the joy of seeing him again and I will feel relieved. ²⁹Give him a joyful Christian welcome. Make sure you honor people like Epaphroditus highly. ³⁰He risked his life and almost died for the work of Christ in order to make up for the help you couldn’t give me.

Philippians 2

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 2

Plea for Unity and Humility.^[a] ¹If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, ²complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing.^(A) ³Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,^(B) ⁴each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others.^(C)

⁵Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,^[b]

⁶Who,^[c] though he was in the form of God,^(D)
    did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.^[d]
⁷    Rather, he emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    coming in human likeness;^[e]
    and found human in appearance,^(E)
⁸    he humbled himself,^(F)
        becoming obedient to death,
        even death on a cross.^[f]
⁹Because of this, God greatly exalted him
    and bestowed on him the name^[g]
    that is above every name,^(G)
¹⁰    that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bend,^[h]
    of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,^(H)
¹¹    and every tongue confess that
    Jesus Christ is Lord,^[i]
    to the glory of God the Father.^(I)

Obedience and Service in the World.^[j] ¹²^(J)So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.^[k] ¹³For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work.^(K) ¹⁴Do everything without grumbling or questioning,^(L) ¹⁵that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,^[l] among whom you shine like lights in the world,^(M) ¹⁶as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.^(N) ¹⁷But, even if I am poured out as a libation^[m] upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you.^(O) ¹⁸In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.^(P)

IV. Travel Plans of Paul and His Assistants^[n]

Timothy and Paul. ¹⁹I hope, in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy^[o] to you soon, so that I too may be heartened by hearing news of you.^(Q) ²⁰For I have no one comparable to him for genuine interest in whatever concerns you. ²¹For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.^(R) ²²But you know his worth, how as a child with a father he served along with me in the cause of the gospel. ²³He it is, then, whom I hope to send as soon as I see how things go with me, ²⁴but I am confident in the Lord that I myself will also come soon.^[p]

Epaphroditus. ²⁵With regard to Epaphroditus,^[q] my brother and co-worker and fellow soldier, your messenger and minister in my need, I consider it necessary to send him to you.^(S) ²⁶For he has been longing for all of you and was distressed because you heard that he was ill. ²⁷He was indeed ill, close to death; but God had mercy on him, not just on him but also on me, so that I might not have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸I send him therefore with the greater eagerness, so that, on seeing him, you may rejoice again, and I may have less anxiety. ²⁹Welcome him then in the Lord with all joy and hold such people in esteem,^(T) ³⁰because for the sake of the work of Christ he came close to death, risking his life to make up for those services to me that you could not perform.

Footnotes

2:1–11 The admonition to likemindedness and unity (Phil 2:2–5) is based on the believers’ threefold experience with Christ, God’s love, and the Spirit. The appeal to humility (Phil 2:3) and to obedience (Phil 2:12) is rooted in christology, specifically in a statement about Christ Jesus (Phil 2:6–11) and his humbling of self and obedience to the point of death (Phil 2:8).
2:5 Have…the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus: or, “that also Christ Jesus had.” While it is often held that Christ here functions as a model for moral imitation, it is not the historical Jesus but the entire Christ event that Phil 2:6–11 depict. Therefore, the appeal is to have in relations among yourselves that same relationship you have in Jesus Christ, i.e., serving one another as you serve Christ (Phil 2:4).
2:6–11 Perhaps an early Christian hymn quoted here by Paul. The short rhythmic lines fall into two parts, Phil 2:6–8 where the subject of every verb is Christ, and Phil 2:9–11 where the subject is God. The general pattern is thus of Christ’s humiliation and then exaltation. More precise analyses propose a division into six three-line stanzas (Phil 2:6; 7abc, 7d–8, 9, 10, 11) or into three stanzas (Phil 2:6–7ab, 7cd–8, 9–11). Phrases such as even death on a cross (Phil 2:8c) are considered by some to be additions (by Paul) to the hymn, as are Phil 2:10c, 11c.
2:6 Either a reference to Christ’s preexistence and those aspects of divinity that he was willing to give up in order to serve in human form, or to what the man Jesus refused to grasp at to attain divinity. Many see an allusion to the Genesis story: unlike Adam, Jesus, though…in the form of God (Gn 1:26–27), did not reach out for equality with God, in contrast with the first Adam in Gn 3:5–6.
2:7 Taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness: or “…taking the form of a slave. Coming in human likeness, and found human in appearance.” While it is common to take Phil 2:6, 7 as dealing with Christ’s preexistence and Phil 2:8 with his incarnate life, so that lines Phil 2:7b, 7c are parallel, it is also possible to interpret so as to exclude any reference to preexistence (see note on Phil 2:6) and to take Phil 2:6–8 as presenting two parallel stanzas about Jesus’ human state (Phil 2:6–7b; 7cd–8); in the latter alternative, coming in human likeness begins the second stanza and parallels 6a to some extent.
2:8 There may be reflected here language about the servant of the Lord, Is 52:13–53:12 especially Is 53:12.
2:9 The name: “Lord” (Phil 2:11), revealing the true nature of the one who is named.
2:10–11 Every knee should bend…every tongue confess: into this language of Is 45:23 there has been inserted a reference to the three levels in the universe, according to ancient thought, heaven, earth, under the earth.
2:11 Jesus Christ is Lord: a common early Christian acclamation; cf. 1 Cor 12:3; Rom 10:9. But doxology to God the Father is not overlooked here (Phil 2:11c) in the final version of the hymn.
2:12–18 Paul goes on to draw out further ethical implications for daily life (Phil 2:14–18) from the salvation God works in Christ.
2:12 Fear and trembling: a common Old Testament expression indicating awe and seriousness in the service of God (cf. Ex 15:16; Jdt 2:28; Ps 2:11; Is 19:16).
2:15–16 Generation…as you hold on to…: or “…generation. Among them shine like lights in the world because you hold the word of life….”
2:17 Libation: in ancient religious ritual, the pouring out on the ground of a liquid offering as a sacrifice. Paul means that he may be facing death.
2:19–3:1 The plans of Paul and his assistants for future travel are regularly a part of a Pauline letter near its conclusion; cf. Rom 15:22–29; 1 Cor 16:5–12.
2:19 Timothy: already known to the Philippians (Acts 16:1–15; cf. 1 Cor 4:17; 16:10).
2:24 I myself will also come soon: cf. Phil 1:19–25 for the significance of this statement.
2:25 Epaphroditus: sent by the Philippians as their messenger (literally, “apostle”) to aid Paul in his imprisonment, he had fallen seriously ill; Paul commends him as he sends him back to Philippi.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Philippians 2 GOD’S WORD Translation