The Letter of Paul to the

PHILIPPIANS

Chapter 1

Thanksgiving

1 aPaul and bTimothy, cbond-servants of dChrist Jesus,

To eall the 1fsaints in Christ Jesus who are in gPhilippi, 2including the hoverseers and ideacons:

2 aGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 aI thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

4 always offering prayer with joy in amy every prayer for you all,

5 in view of your 1aparticipation in the bgospel cfrom the first day until now.

6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until athe day of Christ Jesus.

7 1For ait is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I bhave you in my heart, since both in my 2cimprisonment and in the ddefense and confirmation of the egospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.

8 For aGod is my witness, how I long for you all with the 1affection of bChrist Jesus.

9 And this I pray, that ayour love may abound still more and more in breal knowledge and all discernment,

10 so that you may 1aapprove the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless 2until bthe day of Christ;

11 having been filled with the afruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

The Gospel Is Preached

12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances ahave turned out for the greater progress of the bgospel,

13 so that my 1aimprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole 2praetorian guard and to beveryone else,

14 and that most of the 1brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my 2aimprisonment, have bfar more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

15 aSome, to be sure, are preaching Christ even 1from envy and strife, but some also 1from good will;

16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the agospel;

17 the former proclaim Christ aout of selfish ambition 1rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my 2bimprisonment.

18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will rejoice,

19 for I know that this will turn out for my 1deliverance athrough your 2prayers and the provision of bthe Spirit of Jesus Christ,

20 according to my aearnest expectation and bhope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with call boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be dexalted in my body, ewhether by life or by death.

To Live Is Christ

21 For to me, ato live is Christ and to die is gain.

22 1But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean afruitful labor for me; and I do not know 2which to choose.

23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the adesire to depart and bbe with Christ, for that is very much better;

24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

25 aConvinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy 1in the faith,

26 so that your aproud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.

27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner aworthy of the bgospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are cstanding firm in done spirit, with one 1mind estriving together for the faith of the gospel;

28 in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a asign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.

29 For to you ait has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to bsuffer for His sake,

30 experiencing the same aconflict which byou saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

Chapter 2

Be Like Christ

1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any afellowship of the Spirit, if any 1baffection and compassion,

2 amake my joy complete 1by bbeing of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

3 Do nothing 1from 2aselfishness or bempty conceit, but with humility of mind cregard one another as more important than yourselves;

4 ado not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

5 aHave this attitude 1in yourselves which was also in bChrist Jesus,

6 who, although He aexisted in the bform of God, cdid not regard equality with God a thing to be 1grasped,

7 but 1aemptied Himself, taking the form of a bbond-servant, and cbeing made in the likeness of men.

8 Being found in appearance as a man, aHe humbled Himself by becoming bobedient to the point of death, even cdeath 1on a cross.

9 aFor this reason also, God bhighly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him cthe name which is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus aevery knee will bow, of bthose who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is aLord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 So then, my beloved, ajust as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your bsalvation with cfear and trembling;

13 for it is aGod who is at work in you, both to will and to work bfor His good pleasure.

14 Do all things without agrumbling or disputing;

15 so that you will 1prove yourselves to be ablameless and innocent, bchildren of God above reproach in the midst of a ccrooked and perverse generation, among whom you 2dappear as 3lights in the world,

16 holding 1fast the word of life, so that in athe day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not brun in vain nor ctoil in vain.

17 But even if I am being apoured out as a drink offering upon bthe 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 1in the Lord Jesus to asend bTimothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.

20 For I have no one else aof kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.

21 For they all aseek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

22 But you know aof his proven worth, that bhe served with me in the furtherance of the gospel clike a child serving his father.

23 aTherefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me;

24 and aI trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly.

25 But I thought it necessary to send to you aEpaphroditus, my brother and bfellow worker and cfellow soldier, who is also your 1dmessenger and aminister to my need;

26 because he was longing 1for 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 aReceive him then in the Lord with all joy, and bhold men like him in high regard;

30 because he came close to death 1afor the work of Christ, risking his life to bcomplete 2what was deficient in your service to me.

Chapter 3

The Goal of Life

1 Finally, my brethren, arejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

2 Beware of the adogs, beware of the bevil workers, beware of the 1false circumcision;

3 for awe are the true 1circumcision, who bworship in the Spirit of God and cglory in dChrist Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

4 although aI myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:

5 acircumcised the eighth day, of the bnation of Israel, of the ctribe of Benjamin, a bHebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, da Pharisee;

6 as to zeal, aa persecutor of the church; as to the brighteousness which is in the Law, found cblameless.

7 But awhatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

8 More than that, I count all things to be loss 1in view of the surpassing value of 2aknowing bChrist Jesus my Lord, 1for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

9 and may be found in Him, not having aa righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, bthe righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

10 that I may aknow Him and bthe power of His resurrection and 1cthe fellowship of His sufferings, being dconformed to His death;

11 1in order that I may aattain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already aobtained it or have already bbecome perfect, but I press on 1so that I may clay hold of that 2for which also I dwas laid hold of by eChrist Jesus.

13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: aforgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

14 I apress on toward the goal for the prize of the bupward call of God in cChrist Jesus.

15 Let us therefore, as many as are 1aperfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a bdifferent attitude, cGod will reveal that also to you;

16 however, let us keep 1aliving by that same standard to which we have attained.

17 Brethren, ajoin in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the bpattern you have in us.

18 For amany walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even bweeping, that they are enemies of cthe cross of Christ,

19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their 1aappetite, and whose bglory is in their shame, who cset their minds on earthly things.

20 For aour 1citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly bwait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

21 who will atransform 1the body of our humble state into bconformity with 2the cbody of His glory, dby the exertion of the power that He has even to esubject all things to Himself.

Chapter 4

Think of Excellence

1 Therefore, my beloved brethren 1whom I along to see, my joy and crown, in this way bstand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to 1alive in harmony in the Lord.

3 Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my afellow workers, whose bnames are in the book of life.

4 aRejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. aThe Lord is 1near.

6 aBe anxious for nothing, but in everything by bprayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And athe peace of God, which surpasses all 1comprehension, will bguard your hearts and your cminds in dChrist Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, awhatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is 1lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, 2dwell on these things.

9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen ain me, practice these things, and bthe God of peace will be with you.

God’s Provisions

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last ayou have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.

11 Not that I speak 1from want, for I have learned to be 2acontent in whatever circumstances I am.

12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going ahungry, both of having abundance and bsuffering need.

13 I can do all things 1through Him who astrengthens me.

14 Nevertheless, you have done well to ashare with me in my affliction.

15 You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the 1afirst preaching of the gospel, after I left bMacedonia, no church cshared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone;

16 for even in aThessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.

17 aNot that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the 1profit which increases to your account.

18 But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am 1amply supplied, having received from aEpaphroditus 2what you have sent, 3ba fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.

19 And amy God will supply 1all your needs according to His briches in glory in Christ Jesus.

20 Now to aour God and Father bbe the glory 1forever and ever. Amen.

21 Greet every 1saint in Christ Jesus. aThe brethren who are with me greet you.

22 aAll the 1bsaints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

23 aThe grace of the Lord Jesus Christ bbe with your spirit.