Paragraph 2:1–4

Since Christ has shown the Philippians how much he loves them, they should love one other, agree with one another and be humble.

2:1–4 is one long sentence in the Greek. In your translation you may need to divide this into several shorter sentences.

2:1

There is no verb in 2:1 in the Greek text. Berean Standard Bible has supplied “have” in the first phrase, but you may need to supply a verb for each of the four parts of the verse. Paul used these four conditional or “if” clauses (or phrases) to make his appeal to the Philippians very strong. What he was asking them to do is in 2:2a: “make my joy complete.”

Paul used the Greek word ei in each of the four parts of 2:1. It literally means “if.” But in this context Paul was not expressing any doubt that these things were true. He was assuming that they were true. If your word for “if” is only used in a conditional sense, you will need to use another connecting word here, for example, “since.” See the first Meaning Line in the Display for 2:1a, 2:1b, 2:1c, and 2:1d.

These four phrases have a strong emotional effect, and Paul’s basic aim in writing them was to motivate the readers to follow his instructions in 2:2–4. Look for a way in your language to express the emotional appeal and the strong feeling that Paul showed here. Try not to lose the emotional force by making long sentences in an attempt to explain the exact meaning. One possibility is to use rhetorical questions. For example, in 2:1a:

Does being united to Christ encourage you? ⌊Of course it does!⌋

If you use rhetorical questions, you will need to use them in each part of this verse. See the second Meaning Line in the Display for 2:1a, 2:1b, 2:1c, and 2:1d.

Another way to translate 2:1 is to use short statements. For example:

1 You are united to Christ and this encourages you. Christ loves you and this gives you comfort. You have fellowship with the Spirit. And there is tenderness and compassion.

If you do this, you will need to begin 2:2 with a phrase to connect it with all these statements in 2:1. For example:

2 Since all these things are true, make my joy complete….

2:1a

Therefore: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as Therefore indicates that what follows is the result of what preceded. Some English versions do not use a connector here. Use the expression that is most natural in your language.

if you have any encouragement in Christ: A literal translation of the Greek here is “If any encouragement in Christ…” But in many languages, a verb will be needed (as it is in English). The context implies you have (as the Berean Standard Bible uses) or “you receive” here.

encouragement: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as encouragement comes from a verb that means “to comfort, encourage, cheer up.” It is not possible to translate encouragement as a noun in every language. If you need to translate it with a verb, you could say:

if you are encouraged/comforted because you are united with Christ
-or-
if being united with Christ encourages/comforts you
-or-
if Christ has encouraged you by uniting you with himself

in Christ: The Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek phrase literally as in Christ. People who are joined with Christ because they trust him are in Christ. They belong to him, they let him have control of their lives.

2:1b

comfort from His love: In Greek, the noun love has no possessive pronoun (His). This means that commentators disagree about what love Paul was talking about here. There are four main possibilities:

(1) Christ’s love for the Philippians.

(2) Paul’s love for the Philippians.

(3) The Philippians’ love for Paul.

(4) The Philippians’ love for one another.

Many English versions do not make it clear what love is being referred to (for example, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible), but those which do make it clear, follow the first option—Christ’s love for the Philippians (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version). Since the exact meaning of the Greek is not clear, it may be preferable to leave it more general in your translation, if you can do so. However, if in your language you must provide a subject and an object for love, it is recommended that you also follow option (1). Believers do not have to worry even in difficult times because they know that Christ loves them.

2:1c

fellowship with the Spirit: The Greek is literally “fellowship of the spirit.” This may refer to

(1) the fellowship that believers have with the Spirit. (Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation)

(2) the fellowship that the Spirit helps believers to have with each other. (Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

fellowship: The Greek word here is koinōnia, which means “sharing,” “participating,” “having a part in ⌊something⌋.” This Greek word has several related meanings. For example, it can refer to people sharing with one another or doing something with one another, or people joining together with others in some way. The sense in this verse has to do with participation in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells within and ministers to all believers.

the Spirit: Most commentators and versions agree that this refers to the Spirit of God. You may need to translate the phrase the Spirit as “the Holy Spirit” or “the Spirit of God” or “God’s Spirit” in order to make it clear to whom it is referring.

2:1d

affection and compassion: These two words can refer to two different feelings or to a way of expressing a single emotion. Most commentaries interpret the two words as two distinct but related ideas. The phrase affection and compassion has been understood as describing

(1) how Christ felt toward the Philippians (SSA, O’Brien);

(2) how the Philippians felt toward one another or toward Paul. (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version)

If you need to translate affection and compassion as verbs, you will probably need to give a subject. Interpretation (1) is the most likely to be what Paul meant, and it is recommended that you follow it. Christ loved the Philippians and pitied them. He demonstrated this when he died on the cross to save them.

affection: This is the same word as was used in 1:8. The Greek word literally refers to the “insides of the body.” It means the “affections,” “the feelings of the heart,” “the center of a person’s emotions.” In this verse it means to be tender toward someone, to be kind and gentle to them.

compassion: The Greek word here means “pity, mercy, sympathy.”

© 2002 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

1:29

For: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For joins the text in 1:29 to what Paul said in 1:27–28. It gives the reason for what Paul had just been saying there.

it has been granted to you: Commentators agree that the word granted implies that God had given the Philippian believers a special privilege or favor. God was being good to them by allowing them to suffer for Christ.

Some languages have different words for giving gifts and giving privileges. The choice of words may also depend on how the status (or importance) of the one who gives relates to the status of the one who receives. Consider how your people view the status of God in relation to the status of people.

on behalf of Christ: The phrase on behalf of Christ may relate to 1:29 in three ways. Therefore, there are three possible interpretations:

(1) The phrase relates primarily to the word “suffer.” This can be expressed, for example, as “It has been granted to you to suffer for Christ, not only to believe in him.” Many commentators hold this view.

(2) The phrase relates to both “believe” and “suffer.” This can be expressed, for example, as “It has been granted to you to believe in Christ and to suffer for him.” This is very close in meaning to the first interpretation. In fact, it is not possible to know which of these views a number of English versions follow. (God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004))

(3) The phrase relates to the phrase “it has been granted to you.” This can be expressed, for example. as “For Christ’s sake this has been granted to you : to believe in him and to suffer for him.” (New International Version, Revised Standard Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible)

The first interpretation is recommended (1), but in translation there may be no difference between that and the second.

believe in Him: This means the same as “believe on him” or “put your trust in him.” You could also translate it as “trust him” or “believe what he says.”

suffer for Him: The phrase suffer for Him means that a person is persecuted because he believes in Christ. It means to experience pain (physical or emotional) for Christ’s sake.

It is possible to rephrase the whole sentence (1:29) as:

God not only has allowed you to believe in Christ but also has given you the privilege of suffering for Christ.

© 2002 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

1:28a

without being frightened: It may be helpful to translate this as a command. For example:

Do not have [any] fear [of those who oppose you.]
-or-
Do not [let your enemies] frighten you [at all.]

in any way: The phrase in any way gives emphasis. The Good News Translation shows this emphasis by using two verbs:

don’t be afraid…always be courageous (Good News Translation)

Two translation suggestions that express this emphasis are:

Do not let your enemies find any way to frighten you.
-or-
Do not be afraid of them at all.

those who oppose you: This refers to people who were enemies of the gospel and therefore opposed those who believed in Christ. Possible translations are:

those who persecute you
-or-
those who cause you trouble

The enemies mentioned here in 1:27–28 were probably non-Christians who were persecuting the believers in Philippi as they had persecuted Paul when he was in Philippi (Acts 16).

1:28b

This is a clear sign: In other words: “This is proof to your enemies.” The word This refers back to the phrase “without being frightened” in 1:28a. The believers were not afraid to be faithful to God even though they suffered. This fearlessness was a sign that God controlled their lives and therefore that those who opposed the believers were opposing God.

their destruction: This implies that God would eternally destroy them. The word destruction refers to spiritual ruin. It means that they would not live eternally with God.

of your salvation: This implies that God would give the Philippians eternal life.

It may be more natural in your language to reverse these last two clauses. For example:

God will save you but he will destroy them.

1:28c

and it is from God: This can be understood in three main ways:

(1) God was the one who caused all this to happen. In this case the word it (Greek touto) refers in a general way to all of 1:28, to the courage of the believers and what their courage proved. God caused them not to be afraid and so gave evidence that he would destroy the enemies and save the believers. (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Revised Standard Version)

(2) God is the one who gave the sign. The Greek word touto specifically refers back to the word “sign”. (Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word)

(3) God is the one who will save the believers and destroy their enemies. (New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version and New International Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

© 2002 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Section 1:27–2:11

Paul encouraged the Philippians to live as true followers of Christ

Paul encouraged the Philippians to act as believers should, to agree with each other and to be courageous when they spoke to other people about Christ. Since they lived among many people who were opposed to the gospel, they should expect to defend their faith. They should also expect to suffer because they trusted in Christ.

Paragraph 1:27–30

1:27a

Nevertheless: You could translate this as “no matter what happens” or “whatever may happen.”

conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ: Paul meant that he wanted the Philippians to behave in a way that was suitable to or conformed to the gospel. Their behavior should match their beliefs.

conduct yourselves: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as conduct is a verb that literally means “to live as a citizen.” Here it is used figuratively and means “to behave/act.” Some commentators say it implies to live or behave as citizens of heaven or of the kingdom of God. However, you should not put this in your translation.

in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ: You could translate this as:

[act/behave] as you should because you believe the gospel of Christ
-or-
[act/behave] as people who believe the gospel of Christ should act/behave.

the gospel of Christ: The phrase the gospel of Christ here could mean one of two things.

(1) It could mean “the good news about Christ”. (God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version)

(2) It could mean “the good news from Christ,” “the good news that Christ gave us.”

The first meaning is recommended (1).

1:27b

Then: The Greek word hina that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then means “in order that” or “so that.” So the following clause gives the purpose of Paul’s instructions in 1:27a. A new sentence could start here. For example:

I want you to do this in order that…

The word “this” in the above translation refers to 1:27a.

whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence: The Greek in this clause is difficult to understand. The two main ways to understand the Greek are:

(1) It means “whether I come and see you, or whether being absent I hear about you.” In this interpretation the phrase only hear about you only goes with the second part of the clause in my absence. This interpretation requires the translator to supply “I will/may know that” in the next clause. (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Living Translation (2004), New Jerusalem Bible).

(2) It means “whether I come and see you, or whether I am absent, I will/may hear that…” In this interpretation the phrase only hear about you goes with both I come and see you and in my absence (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, NET Bible, New Century Version, Contemporary English Version, King James Version, Revised English Bible, New American Standard Bible).

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Paul wanted to see the Philippians again, but even if he only heard news about them, he wanted them to be united in believing the good news.

come: Some languages use the directions “come” and “go” in different ways from Greek or English. So it may be necessary in these languages to use “go” or “return” here instead of come. Use the verb that is most natural for your language.

1:27c–d

I will know: This phrase is not in the Greek, but has been supplied in the Berean Standard Bible to make a natural English sentence.

stand firm: The Greek word translated by the Berean Standard Bible as stand firm literally just means “stand.” It is used figuratively here to mean “be steadfast.” Paul wanted the Philippians to be strong in their faith and not let others change their minds about trusting Christ.

in one spirit, contending side by side: The phrases in one spirit and side by side are not expressing different ideas. They both emphasize unity. It is important to get the meaning of unity in your translation. Possible phrases are:

with one common purpose
-or-
with one heart
-or-
not divided

contending: The Greek here refers to striving or struggling together against a common enemy. Be careful that in your translation the word contending does not imply that the believers were to fight against each other. Paul did not say specify against whom the Philippians were to contend. It is, however, clear from the rest of the letter that people in Philippi, perhaps Jews, were opposing them. Do not try to specify who these enemies were unless it is necessary to do so in your language. If you do need to say something, you should use a general expression, for example, “against those who oppose the gospel.”

Obviously Paul did not mean that he wanted to hear that the Philippians were fighting people physically for the gospel. So avoid using a verb which would only refer to hitting or shooting someone. Here he was referring to speaking very strongly or very emotionally to another, or acting in a strong way but without physical fighting. See the note on 4:3b.

side by side: The Greek here is literally “with one soul.” Many translations understand this to refer to the way people think and translate this as “with one mind” (Revised Standard Version, NET Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible).

1:27e

for the faith of the gospel: This phrase appears only here in the New Testament. Paul urged the Philippians believers to energetically defend and proclaim the faith that the good news has brought them. They are to struggle for the sake of maintaining and preserving that faith.

faith: The Greek word pistis, faith, refers here to the things that Christians believe.

gospel: The gospel is the source or origin of that faith. The faith of Christians is based on the good news about Jesus Christ. See “gospel” in Key Biblical Terms.

© 2002 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.