Paul now returns to the note of his sincere appreciation to the Philippians for their kindness. The particle but is the same one used in 3.16, where Good News Bible renders it as however that may be. It indicates that the apostle is trying to keep his readers from drawing a wrong conclusion from what he has said in the previous verses. The particle can also be translated “all the same” (Jerusalem Bible Barclay) or “nevertheless” (Phillips).

It was very good of you is literally “you did well” or “you did nobly.” In a number of translations it is rendered “it was kind of you.”

To help me in my troubles translates a participial phrase which means literally “sharing my affliction.” The participle “sharing” is a compound and cognate of “partnership” in 1.5 and a cognate of “partakers” in 1.7. The word “affliction” is often used in the technical sense of the disaster that will come at the end of the age (Mark 13.19; 2 Thes 1.6), but in this context it means “hardships” (Jerusalem Bible New American Bible), “difficulties” (Goodspeed), or troubles (Good News Translation New American Bible). When Paul commends his readers for sharing his troubles, he is probably thinking both of the material help they provided and of the sympathy they showed in sending Epaphroditus to him. To help me in my troubles is a more concrete way of saying “to share the burden of my troubles” (New English Bible). The phrase suggests the closeness of the bond that held the apostle and his readers together.

In some languages there is danger in a literal translation of help me in my troubles, since this can be interpreted as “add to my troubles.” This danger may be avoided by translating “to help me when I was in difficulty,” or “to come to my aid when I was in trouble.”

Quoted with permission from Luo, I-Jin. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .