Philippians 1

1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

[I], Paul, and Timothy, [who is with me, are] men who serve Christ Jesus. I [am writing this letter] to all [of you who are] pastors and deacons in Philippi [city] and to the rest of God’s people [there who have a close relationship] with Christ Jesus.

2 Grace [be] unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and [from] the Lord Jesus Christ.

[We both] (OR, [I]) [pray that] God, [who is] our Father, and Jesus Christ, [who is our] Lord, [will continue to] be kind to you and [will continue to] cause you to have [inner] peace.

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

I thank my God whenever I think about you.

4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

Every time [DOU] I pray [for you], I joyfully pray [DOU] for all of you.

5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

I [thank God and rejoice] because you have been [working] together with me in order to [make known] the good message about Christ. [You started doing that] when you first [MTY] [believed it, and you have continued doing it] until now.

6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ:

I am completely confident that [God], who has begun to do in you what is good, (OR, that since [God] has begun to do in you what is good, he) will continue to do that until he finishes doing it on the day Christ Jesus [MTY] [returns].

7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

During this time that I have been a prisoner [MTY] and during the times I was previously able to defend the good message about Christ and proved/confirmed [to others] that it is true, all of you have been sharing with me (OR, have helped me) in this work [that God] kindly gave [to me to do. So] indeed it is right that I feel joyful about you all, because you are very dear [IDM] to me.

8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.

God [can] verify that Christ Jesus causes me to [love and] long for all of you very much, [just like] Christ loves [you].

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and [in] all judgment;

And what I pray [for you] is that [God will enable] you to truly know and learn how to love [one another] more and more in every situation.

10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

[And I pray that he will enable] you to completely understand [how you should believe and act]. I [pray this] in order that you might be [spiritually] pure and faultless (OR, completely faultless [DOU]) on the day that Christ [returns] [MTY],

11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

[and in order that] you might conduct your lives [IDM] completely righteously as a result of Jesus Christ [enabling you to do so], in order that [people will] honor God and praise him (OR, [people will] praise God very much [DOU]).

12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things [which happened] unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;

My fellow believers, I want you to know that the [troubles] I have experienced [have not prevented me from proclaiming the good message to people. Instead], [these things that I have experienced] have enabled even more people to hear the good message [about Christ].

13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other [places];

[Specifically], all the military guards who are stationed [here in Rome] and many other [HYP] [people in this city] [HYP] now know that I am a prisoner [MTY] because I [proclaim the good news] about Christ.

14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Also, most of the believers [here now] proclaim the message from God more courageously and fearlessly [because] they trust the Lord [more firmly to help them. They trust the Lord more] because [they have seen how the Lord has helped me] while I have been a prisoner [MTY] [here].

15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:

Some people proclaim [the message about Christ as I do] because they are happy [with my work]. They proclaim [the message about] Christ because they love [me and because] they know that [God] has placed me [here] to defend the message about Christ [CHI].

16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:

17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.

Others proclaim [the message about] Christ because they envy [me] and oppose [me]. They proclaim the message about Christ because they have wrong motives. They [wrongly] assume [that because they are causing many people to follow them, I will be jealous, and as a result], I will feel more miserable while I am a prisoner [MTY] [here].

18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

But it does not matter whether [people proclaim the message about Christ] because they have wrong motives, or whether [people proclaim the message about Christ] because they have right motives. The important thing in either case is that [the message about] Christ is being proclaimed {people are proclaiming [the message about] Christ}. And because of that I rejoice! Philippians 1:18b-26 Furthermore, I will continue to rejoice,

19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

because when I experience troubles, I know that some day God will say that he approves [of what I have done] (OR, that [the Roman authorities] will set me free). [This will happen] as a result of your praying for me, and [as a result] of [God’s] Spirit, whom Jesus Christ gave me, helping me.

20 According to my earnest expectation and [my] hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but [that] with all boldness, as always, [so] now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether [it be] by life, or by death.

I [know that this will happen] because I very confidently expect [DOU] that I will faithfully honor Christ. I expect that like I always [have done], Christ will be greatly honored {I will continue now also to very boldly honor Christ} by means of all that I do [SYN, MTY], whether by [the way I] live or [by the way I] die.

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

As for me, I live [in order to honor] Christ. But if I die, it will be better [for me than if I continue to live, because then I will be with him].

22 But if I live in the flesh, this [is] the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.

On the other hand, if I continue to live, that will enable me to continue to serve [Christ] effectively. As a result, I do not know which to choose.

23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

That is, I am not sure which of those two I [prefer]. I long to leave [this world] and [go to] be with Christ, because that will be very much better [for me].

24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh [is] more needful for you.

Nevertheless, it is more important that I remain alive [than that I go to be with Christ because] you still need [me to help you].

25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;

Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain [alive] and that I will [go/come to] be with you all. [As a result], you will believe [in Christ] more firmly, and [as a result of that], you will rejoice.

26 That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

[That is], you will be able to rejoice very greatly because of Christ Jesus [bringing] me [to be with you again].

27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

Most importantly, as fellow [believers in Christ], conduct yourselves just like [you learned you should do when you heard] the message about Christ. Do that in order that whether I come and see you, or whether [I am away from you and] people tell me about you, [what I hear or see will make me happy]. They will tell me that you are unitedly and cooperatively resisting [those who oppose the message about Christ] (OR, [oppose you]). I [will know] that you are not allowing others to influence you to believe a message that is different from the gospel [about Christ].

28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.

And I [will know] that you are not at all frightened by {afraid of} the people who oppose you. This will show/prove to those people that [God] will destroy them, but this will show/prove to you that [God] will save you eternally. It is God who is doing [all] this.

29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Remember that he has not only kindly enabled you to believe in Christ, [he] has also kindly allowed you to suffer for the sake of Christ.

30 Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear [to be] in me.

[As a result], you are [having to] resist [those who oppose the good message], just like you saw that I [had to] resist [such people there in Philippi], and just like you hear that I [still have to resist such people here] now.