| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, | 1Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? |
| 2complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose. | 2Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. |
| 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. | 3Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. |
| 4Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. | 4Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. |
| 5You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, | 5You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. |
| 6who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, | 6Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. |
| 7but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. | 7Instead, he gave up his divine privileges ; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, |
| 8He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross! | 8he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. |
| 9As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, | 9Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, |
| 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow--in heaven and on earth and under the earth-- | 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, |
| 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. | 11and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Shine Brightly for Christ |
| 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, | 12Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. |
| 13for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort--for the sake of his good pleasure--is God. | 13For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. |
| 14Do everything without grumbling or arguing, | 14Do everything without complaining and arguing, |
| 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 | 15so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. |
| 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. | 16Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. |
| 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. | 17But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. |
| 18And in the same way you also should be glad and rejoice together with me. | 18Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy. Paul Commends Timothy |
| 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. | 19If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. |
| 20For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you. | 20I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. |
| 21Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ. | 21All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. |
| 22But you know his qualifications, that like a son working with his father, he served with me in advancing the gospel. | 22But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. |
| 23So I hope to send him as soon as I know more about my situation, | 23I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. |
| 24though I am confident in the Lord that I too will be coming to see you soon. | 24And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon. Paul Commends Epaphroditus |
| 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. | 25Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. |
| 26Indeed, he greatly missed all of you and was distressed because you heard that he had been ill. | 26I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. |
| 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. | 27And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. |
| 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. | 28So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you. |
| 29So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, | 29Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve. |
| 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. | 30For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away. |
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