| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Therefore, if there is any encouragement in the Messiah, if there is any comfort of love, if there is any fellowship in the Spirit, if there is any compassion and sympathy, | 1Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, |
| 2then fill me with joy by having the same attitude, sharing the same love, being united in spirit, and keeping one purpose in mind. | 2complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose. |
| 3Do not act out of selfish ambition or conceit, but with humility think of others as being better than yourselves. | 3Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. |
| 4Do not be concerned about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others. | 4Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. |
| 5Have the same attitude among yourselves that was also in the Messiah Jesus: | 5You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, |
| 6In God's own form existed he, and shared with God equality, deemed nothing needed grasping. | 6who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, |
| 7Instead, poured out in emptiness, a servant's form did he possess, a mortal man becoming. In human form he chose to be, | 7but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. |
| 8and lived in all humility, death on a cross obeying. | 8He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross! |
| 9Now lifted up by God to heaven, a name above all others given, this matchless name possessing. | 9As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, |
| 10And so, when Jesus' name is called, the knees of everyone should fall, wherever they're residing. | 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow--in heaven and on earth and under the earth-- |
| 11Then every tongue in one accord, will say that Jesus the Messiah is Lord, while God the Father praising. | 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. |
| 12And so, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you but even more now that I am absent, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. | 12So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, |
| 13For it is God who is producing in you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases him. | 13for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort--for the sake of his good pleasure--is God. |
| 14Do everything without complaining or arguing | 14Do everything without grumbling or arguing, |
| 15so that you may be blameless and innocent, God's children without any faults among a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world | 15so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world |
| 16as you hold firmly to the word of life. Then I will be proud when the Messiah returns that I did not run in vain or work hard in vain. | 16by holding on to the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. |
| 17Yet even if I am being poured out like an offering as part of the sacrifice and service I offer for your faith, I rejoice, and I share my joy with all of you. | 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice together with all of you. |
| 18In the same way, you also should rejoice and share your joy with me. | 18And in the same way you also should be glad and rejoice together with me. |
| 19Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I can be encouraged when I learn of your condition. | 19Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you. |
| 20I do not have anyone else like him who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. | 20For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you. |
| 21For all the others look after their own interests, not after those of Jesus the Messiah. | 21Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ. |
| 22But you know his proven worth—how like a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. | 22But you know his qualifications, that like a son working with his father, he served with me in advancing the gospel. |
| 23Therefore, I hope to send him as soon as I see how things are going to turn out for me. | 23So I hope to send him as soon as I know more about my situation, |
| 24Indeed, I am confident in the Lord that I will come to visit you soon. | 24though I am confident in the Lord that I too will be coming to see you soon. |
| 25Meanwhile, I thought it best to send Epaphroditus—my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and minister to my need—back to you. | 25But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to me in my need. |
| 26For he has been longing for all of you and is troubled because you heard that he was sick. | 26Indeed, he greatly missed all of you and was distressed because you heard that he had been ill. |
| 27Indeed, he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow on top of another. | 27In fact he became so ill that he nearly died. But God showed mercy to him--and not to him only, but also to me--so that I would not have grief on top of grief. |
| 28Therefore, I am especially eager to send him so that you may have the joy of seeing him again, and so that I may feel relieved. | 28Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you can rejoice and I can be free from anxiety. |
| 29So joyfully welcome him in the Lord and make sure you honor such people highly, | 29So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, |
| 30because he came close to death for the work of the Messiah by risking his life to complete what remained unfinished in your service to me. | 30since it was because of the work of Christ that he almost died. He risked his life so that he could make up for your inability to serve me. |
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