< Philippians 2 >
1 If there is therefore any exhortation in Meshikha, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Rukha, if any tender mercies and compassion,
If, then, any encouragement comes through union with Christ, if there is any persuasive power in love, if there is any communion with the Spirit, if there is any tenderness or pity,
2 make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;
I entreat you to make my happiness complete – live together animated by the same spirit and in mutual love, one in heart, animated by one Spirit.
3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;
Nothing should be done out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility lift others up above yourselves,
4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
considering not only your own interests but also the interests of others.
5 Have this in your attitude, which was also in Meshikha Yeshua,
Let the spirit of Christ Jesus be yours also.
6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,
Though the divine nature was his from the beginning, yet he did not look on equality with God as above all things to be clung to,
7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
but impoverished himself by taking the nature of a servant and becoming like one of us;
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.
he appeared among us as a man, and still further humbled himself by submitting even to death – to death on a cross!
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
And that is why God raised him to the very highest place, and gave him the name which stands above all other names,
10 that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
so that in adoration of the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Yeshua Meshikha is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
and that every tongue should acknowledge JESUS CHRIST as LORD – to the glory of God the Father.
12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with awe and reverence.
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always been obedient in the past, so now work out your own salvation with anxious care, not only when I am with you, but all the more now that I am absent.
13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.
Remember it is God who, in his kindness, is at work within you, enabling you both to will and to work.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputes,
In all that you do, avoid murmuring and dissension,
15 that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,
so as to prove yourselves blameless and innocent – faultless children of God, in the midst of an evil-disposed and perverse generation, in which you are seen shining like stars in a dark world,
16 holding up the word of life; that I may have something to boast in the day of Meshikha, that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.
offering to them the message of life; and then I will be able at the day of Christ to boast that I did not run my course for nothing, or toil for nothing.
17 Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all.
And yet, even if, when your faith is offered as a sacrifice to God, my lifeblood must be poured out in addition, still I will rejoice and share the joy of you all;
18 In the same way, you also rejoice, and rejoice with me.
and you must also rejoice and share my joy.
19 But I hope in the Lord Yeshua to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing.
I hope, however, as one who trusts in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you before long, so that I may myself be cheered by receiving news of you.
20 For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you.
For I have no one but him to send – no one of kindred spirit who would take the same genuine interest in your welfare.
21 For they all seek their own, not the things of Yeshua Meshikha.
They are all pursuing their own aims and not those of Christ Jesus.
22 But you know the proof of him, that, as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News.
But you know what Timothy has proved himself to be, and how, like a child working for his father, he worked hard with me in spreading the good news.
23 Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me.
It is Timothy, then, whom I hope to send, just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here.
24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly.
And I am confident, as one who trusts in the Lord Jesus, that before long I myself will follow.
25 But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need;
Still I think it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you now, for he is my dear friend, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, and he was also your messenger to help me in my need.
26 since he longed for you all, and was very troubled, because you had heard that he was sick.
For he has been longing to see you all, and has been distressed because you heard of his illness.
27 For indeed he was sick, nearly to death, but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow on sorrow.
And I can assure you that his illness very nearly proved fatal. But God had pity on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I might not have sorrow on sorrow.
28 I have sent him all the more eagerly, therefore, so that when you see him again you may rejoice, and that I may be less anxious.
I am all the more ready, therefore, to send him, so that the sight of him may revive your spirits and my own sorrow be lightened.
29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such in honor,
Give him, then, the heartiest of Christian welcomes, and hold such people in great honour.
30 because for the work of Meshikha he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.
For it was owing to his devotion to the Master’s work that he was at the point of death, having risked his own life in the effort to supply what was wanting in the help that you sent me.