SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 2002 – Page 4

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 4:12

4:12a

I know how to live humbly: Paul knew what it was like not to have the things he needed. He was capable of living with very little.

I know how: This has two possible meanings:

(1) “I know how…”; that is, this means the same as “I have learned to be content” in 4:11b. (Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version)

(2) “I know by experience” or “I have experienced [need]”. (New International Version, Good News Translation, NET Bible, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version).

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Paul was expanding what he has said in 4:11. In this verse he was giving specific examples.

to live humbly: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to live humbly can be understood as referring to two things:

(1) It refers to a lack of physical resources such as food, clothes and money. (New International Version, Good News Translation, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, New American Standard Bible, New Revised Standard Version, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)

(2) It refers to a mental state and means that Paul was humbled or humiliated. (Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, King James Version)

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1).

4:12b

I know how to abound: Paul had experienced times when he had lacked things he needed, but he had also had times when he had had enough. And he had learned ho to be satisfied or content in both sets of circumstances.

I know: This has the same two possible meanings as in 4:12a and you should interpret it in the same way in both parts of the verse.

4:12c

I am accustomed to any and every situation: Here Paul repeated the main idea of what he had said in 4:11b. He had learned to be happy no matter what happened to him.

I am accustomed to: Paul was not talking here about learning something “secret,” something unknown to other people. He just meant that he had learned “how to…”

any and every situation: The Greek phrase here can be literally translated as “in every and in all.” This can be interpreted in different ways.

(1) “Every” and “all” both refer to circumstances or situations. Together they mean “all sorts of situations”. (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version)

(2) “Every” and “all” refer to different things. For example:

anywhere, at any time (Good News Translation) (New Century Version, King James Version, Good News Translation)

It is recommend that you follow interpretation (1).

4:12d

to being filled and being hungry: Paul had learned to be satisfied whether he had plenty of food or not enough food. Consider whether it would be a more natural order in your language to reverse the order and say “…whether hungry or filled.”

4:12e

to having plenty and having need: Paul was content whether he had all he needed or less than he needed. He was repeating the main idea of what he said in 4:12a–b.

© 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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 4:23

4:23

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit: Paul ended many of his letters with a form of blessing or prayer. The form varied from letter to letter. See also 1 Thessalonians 5:28 and Philemon verse 25.

grace: The idea of grace here implies both physical and spiritual blessing. It refers to God being kind and favorable toward people.

be with your spirit: It seems that Paul used the phrase be with your spirit here as meaning simply “be with you” or “be with you all” (see 4:23 in Good News Translation). He was probably using the singular word translated spirit to refer to the group of believers in Philippi as a whole, as a unified group. But he also could have been using the singular form to apply his blessing to each individual in the group. See also Galatians 6:18; 2 Timothy 4:22 and Philemon verse 25.

(New International Version🙂 Amen: See note on 4:20. The word amēn is in some Greek manuscripts here and not in others. The King James Version, New American Bible, and New International Version include it, but the Berean Standard Bible and some other modern English versions omit it. You must decide whether you want to include this ending (Amen) in your translation. It is recommended that you follow the national language version in this.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 4:22

4:22a

All the saints send you greetings: The phrase All the saints apparently represents the larger group of believers in Rome, all those who were followers of Christ in that city.

4:22b

especially those from the household of Caesar: The phrase household of Caesar refers to those believers who in some way worked for the Roman emperor.

those from the household of Caesar: It is not likely that Paul was referring to the emperor’s relatives. He probably meant people who worked in the emperor’s palace as slaves or other servants as well as those who worked for the emperor as scribes, soldiers or administrators throughout the city of Rome.

Caesar: This was originally the proper name of the Roman emperor, but it came to be used as the title of the emperor or leader of the Roman Empire. It is better, therefore, to translate it as “Roman emperor” or “Roman king” than to transliterate it as a proper name.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 4:21

Section 4:21–23

Paul and those with him sent greetings to all the Philippian believers

With these verses, Paul ended his letter to the Philippian believers. As he did in many of his letters, he sent his greetings and the greetings of the believers who were with him. He ended the letter with a brief prayer or blessing (4:23).

Paragraph 4:21–23

4:21a

Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus: Paul told those who would read or hear his letter to give his greetings to the rest of the believers in Philippi.

Greet: This is a command addressed to more than one person. Probably Paul was addressing the church leaders, who would have read the letter first.

all the saints: See notes on 1:1b for the meaning of saints. Paul wanted to greet every believer in Philippi. In some languages it may be necessary to supply the word “other” to indicate that those who would pass on Paul’s greetings were also Christians.

in Christ Jesus: There are three main ways that this phrase can be understood here:

(1) It explains the word “saints.” The “saints” are those who are united with or are in Christ Jesus. For example:

Greetings to each one of God’s people who belong to Christ Jesus. (Good News Translation) (God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), Good News Translation)

(2) It relates to the verb “greet.” This would mean, “Greet in Christ Jesus’ name all God’s people.” For example:

Give my greetings, in the fellowship of Christ Jesus. (Revised English Bible)

(3) It means “because of Christ Jesus.” For example:

Give my greetings to all who are God’s people because of Christ Jesus. (Contemporary English Version)

The first interpretation is the most likely, and it is recommended that you follow it (1).

4:21b

The brothers who are with me send you greetings: This probably refers to the believers who worked closely with Paul. They also sent their greetings to the believers in Philippi. It does not mean that these believers were with Paul in the Roman prison. But they would have been in the city of Rome. These co-workers were probably all men, and it is not necessary to translate brothers as “brothers and sisters” here.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 4:20

4:20

To our God and Father be glory: This phrase is like a prayer. It expresses the desire that people would glorify God, that is, praise him and acknowledge that he is great and glorious. See the note on 1:11c.

our God and Father: The word our modifies both God and Father. It means that God is the God we worship and that he is like a father to us. See the note on 1:2 on “our Father.”

forever and ever: God’s people should praise him forever, without end, for all ages to come.

Amen: This is from a Hebrew word which means to approve and confirm as true what someone has just said. In many languages people will already be familiar with it and so it is possible to transliterate it. Otherwise it can be translated “This is true” or “Let it be so.”

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 4:19

4:19

The Philippian believers had given Paul what he needed. And here Paul said that God would also give them what they needed.

my God: This means “the God whom I worship and serve.” It refers to the God that Paul belonged to. It does not mean that God belonged to Paul.

will supply all your needs: Paul said that God would provide/supply everything that the Philippians needed.

according to: This expresses the relationship between God’s riches and the Philippians’ needs. God’s riches are sufficient for meeting every need.

glorious: The Greek expression en doxē that the Berean Standard Bible has translated glorious literally means “in glory.” There are three main ways to interpret this phrase here:

(1) It relates to the word “riches.” In this case, it means “his glorious riches” or “his abundant wealth”. (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, New Century Version, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible)

(2) It relates to the verb that the Berean Standard Bible translated “will supply.” In this case, it would mean:

God will gloriously [that is, abundantly, completely] supply everything you need (God’s Word)

(3) It has its literal meaning and refers to a location “in glory”. (Revised Standard Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

riches: The word riches in this verse refers to God’s power or ability to supply all that people need physically and spiritually. It is not limited to money or material things.

in Christ Jesus: There are two ways to interpret this phrase here:

(1) It means “through Christ Jesus,” that is, because of what Jesus has done for them. (God’s Word, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version)

(2) It means because the Philippians belong to Jesus.

Most English versions translate the phrase literally. The Greek probably implies both meanings. It was because of what Jesus had done for them that the Philippian believers belonged to him. And this is why God had a way to supply so abundantly what they needed.

You could translate 4:19 something like the following:

And God, whom I serve, will give you everything you need according to his wonderful and unlimited riches because of ⌊what⌋ Christ Jesus ⌊has done for you⌋.

General Comment on 4:19

In some languages it will be helpful to reorder this verse. One way to do this would be:

Moreover, God, whom I serve, has an unlimited supply of everything that we(incl.) need. And as a result, he will completely supply everything that you need because Christ Jesus has died for us(incl.). (SSA)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 4:18

4:18

This verse connects to the previous one with a Greek particle, de, that often indicates a slight contrast or change of the direction of the thought. Many English versions omit any explicit connection here, but if you have a way in your language to show such a connection you may use it here.

4:18a

I have all I need and more: Paul continued his business metaphor by saying, in effect,

Here…is my receipt for everything (Good News Translation)

He meant that he had received their gift and it supplied all he needed.

and more: The Philippians’ gift was more than enough for what Paul needed.

4:18b

I have received your gifts from Epaphroditus: Epaphroditus was the one who brought the Philippians’ gift to Paul. See the note on 2:25c.

your gifts: The Greek literally means “the things you sent.” Apparently different people from Philippi sent things to help Paul, and this explains why the term gifts is in the plural.

General Comment on 4:18b

The three events in this part of the verse actually happened in this order:

(a) the Philippians sent Paul gifts;

(b) Epaphroditus handed them to Paul;

In some languages it will be necessary to reorder this verse so that the events are in the right order. For example:

You sent me gifts, and Epaphroditus has given them to me. So now I have all that I need.

4:18c

They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God: Paul again thought of the gifts from the Philippians in a collective sense, as a single large gift. He was saying that the help they sent was pleasing to God in the same way that the sort of sacrifice God required was pleasing to him.

a fragrant offering: This is literally “an odor of a sweet smell.” It refers to an offering to God that smells good. The Jewish people brought offerings to God as a way of worshiping him. When the priest burned these sacrifices, whether animals or grain and incense, God said that the smell was pleasing to him (See, for example, Leviticus 1:9, 2:1–2). Paul used these Jewish sacrifices as a metaphor for the gift the Philippians had sent. It may be necessary in some languages to translate this as a simile: “Your gift is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice….”

an acceptable sacrifice: Some sacrifices people made to God had something wrong with them or the people who offered them had the wrong attitude, and God did not accept those sacrifices. But God did accept the things the Philippians sent to Paul because they sent them lovingly.

well-pleasing to God: God approved of what the Philippians had done and the gifts they had sent to Paul. Their attitude and their gift were right.

Another way to translate 4:18c would be:

Your gifts to me are like the sweet-smelling offerings and sacrifices the priests offer to God. He accepts those offerings and they make him happy.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 4:17

4:17

In this verse Paul one again used business language. He used the metaphor of a bank account. The good things the Philippian believers were doing to help Paul preach the good news were like adding interest to their bank account (that is, putting more money into their account). He implied that God was keeping a record of these things they were doing for his kingdom and would reward them.

4:17a

Not that I am seeking a gift: Paul was not telling the Philippians that he appreciated their help so that they would continue to send him gifts. Even though he needed it, the money was not what he was mainly concerned about. You could translate this as:

The thing I am mainly concerned about is not the gifts ⌊that you send⌋.

seeking: Paul was referring to how he was thinking, not to the physical action of seeking or looking. He meant that he was not hoping and expecting that the Philippians would send him another gift.

a gift: It may be helpful to translate this as “another gift,” to indicate that Paul was referring to possible future gifts.

4:17b

I am looking for the fruit that may be credited to your account: Paul meant that the main thing he wanted was to see them continue serving the kingdom of God, which would result in God rewarding them.

the fruit that may be credited to your account: This is a financial expression referring to profit or interest building up in a bank account. Paul was using it in a spiritual sense here to mean that their generosity to Paul pleased God. Do not keep this financial metaphor, unless it has the same meaning in your language. Use a term or expression in your language that would make clear what Paul was really referring to here.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 2002