Philippians 1
1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Christ Jesus: To all God's people in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the ministers of the Church and their assistants.
[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 May grace and peace be granted to you from God our Father and 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 at my every remembrance of you--
I thank my God whenever I think about you.
4 always when offering any prayer on behalf of you all, finding a joy in offering it.
Every time [DOU] I pray [for you], I joyfully pray [DOU] for all of you.
5 I thank my God, I say, for your cooperation in spreading the Good News, from the time it first came to you even 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 For of this I am confident, that He who has begun a good work within you will go on to perfect it in preparation for 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 And I am justified in having this confidence about you all, because, both during my imprisonment and when I stand up in defence of the Good News or to confirm its truth, I have you in my heart, sharers as you all are in the same grace as myself.
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 witness how I yearn over all of you with tender Christian affection.
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 it is my prayer that your love may be more and more accompanied by clear knowledge and keen perception, for testing things that differ,
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 so that you may be men of transparent character, and may be blameless, in preparation for 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 these fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ-- to 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 Now I would have you know, brethren, that what I have gone through has turned out to the furtherance of the Good News rather than otherwise.
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 And thus it has become notorious among all the Imperial Guards, and everywhere, that it is for the sake of Christ that I am a prisoner;
[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 the greater part of the brethren, made confident in the Lord through my imprisonment, now speak of God's Message without fear, more boldly than ever.
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 actually preach Christ out of envy and contentiousness but there are also others who do it from 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 These latter preach Him from love to me, knowing that I am here for the defence of the Good News;
17 while the others proclaim Him from motives of rivalry, and insincerely, supposing that by this they are embittering my imprisonment.
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 does it matter, however? In any case Christ is preached--either perversely or in honest truth; and in that I rejoice, yes, 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 it will result in my salvation through your prayers and a bountiful 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 in fulfilment of my eager expectation and hope that I shall never have reason to feel ashamed, but that by my perfect freedom of speech Christ will be glorified in me, now as always, either by my life or by my 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, with 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 since to live means a longer stay on earth, that implies more labour for me--and not unsuccessful labour; and which I am to choose I cannot tell.
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 I am in a dilemma, my earnest desire being to depart and be with Christ, for that is far, 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 But for your sakes it is more important that I should still remain in the body.
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 I am convinced of this, and I know that I shall remain, and shall go on working side by side with you all, to promote your progress and joy in the 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 so that, as Christians, you may have additional reason for glorying about me as the result of my being with 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 the lives you live be worthy of the Good News of the Christ, in order that, whether I come and see you or, being absent, only hear of you, I may know that you are standing fast in one spirit and with one mind, fighting shoulder to shoulder for the faith of the Good News.
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 Never for a moment quail before your antagonists. Your fearlessness will be to them a sure token of impending destruction, but to you it will be a sure token of your salvation--a token coming from 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 you have had the privilege granted you on behalf of Christ--not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf;
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 maintaining, as you do, the same kind of conflict that you once saw in me and which you still hear that I am engaged in.
[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.
