English Standard Version

New Living Translation

1Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

1This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and deacons.

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

2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer

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

3Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

4always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,

4Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy,

5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

5for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.

6And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

6And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

7It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

7So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News.

8For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

8God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

9And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,

9I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.

10so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

10For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.

11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

11May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ —for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Paul’s Joy That Christ Is Preached

12I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,

12And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.

13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

13For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ.

14And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

14And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.

15Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.

15It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives.

16The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.

16They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News.

17The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.

17Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me.

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

18But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.

19for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,

19For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance. Paul’s Life for Christ

20as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

20For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.

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

21For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.

22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.

22But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better.

23I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

23I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.

24But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

24But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

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

25Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.

26so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

26And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me. Live as Citizens of Heaven

27Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

27Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.

28and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

28Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.

29For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

29For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.

30engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

30We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.