SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 2002 – Page 8

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:17

1:17a

The former, however: This refers back to the group of people Paul was talking about in 1:15a, that is, those who preached about Christ because they envied him and were his rivals. See comments on chiasmus at the beginning of this paragraph.

out of: This is the same Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translated as “in” in 1:16 and indicates the cause of these people’s preaching.

selfish ambition: The Greek word translated by the Berean Standard Bible as selfish ambition is also found in Romans 2:8; Galatians 5:20 and 2 Corinthians 12:20. Here Paul meant that these people wanted to be important. They wanted people to respect them and obey them rather than Paul, so they tried to get more people to follow them than Paul had.

not sincerely: These people preached for the wrong reason, selfishly, for their own advancement rather than for the good of others and the glory of God.

It some languages it may be clearer to reverse the ideas of not sincerely and “selfish ambition.” For example:

They do not proclaim the message about Christ sincerely, but they preach about him with selfish ambition.

1:17b

supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains: The Greek literally says “thinking to raise up affliction.” This means that these jealous believers intended to cause trouble for Paul. However, it is implied that what they thought was wrong. Paul continued to rejoice because the gospel was preached.

they can add to the distress of my chains: This refers not to physical suffering but to inward suffering. These rival preachers probably thought that their success would make Paul jealous of them.

of my chains: As in 1:7, this means “in prison.”

General Comment on 1:15–17

These verses form a chiasmus, as explained in the introductory note to this paragraph. If your language does not naturally use chiasmus, you should use what is a natural order in you language. For example:

15a Some preach about Christ out of envy. 17a They do so because they have selfish ambition…. 15b Others ⌊preach about Christ⌋ out of goodwill. 16 They preach because they love me….

© 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 1:16

1:16

The latter: This refers to the same group of people Paul was talking about in 1:15b, that is, those who preached about Christ because of their goodwill toward Paul.

in: This is a different Greek word from that translated by the Berean Standard Bible as “out of” in 1:15a–b. However, it has a similar meaning (“out of, from”) and gives the cause of the actions.

love: The main meaning of love here is that these believers loved Paul, and if you need to supply an object you should supply “me.” This does not mean that they did not also love Christ and the gospel.

I am appointed: There are two ways to understand the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I am appointed :

(1) God placed Paul where he was—in prison. He wanted him to be a witness there. (New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, NET Bible)

(2) God appointed Paul to the ministry of preaching and defending the gospel, wherever he went. (Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible)

The first interpretation seems to fit the context best, so it is recommended that you follow it (1).

defense: For ideas on translating defense see the note on 1:7b–c about “defending the gospel.”

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:15

Paragraph 1:15–18d

Some Christians were jealous of Paul, but this caused them to proclaim the good news more, and so he was rejoicing.

1:15–17 contains a figure of speech called a “chiasmus.” A chiasmus is the ordering of information in a mirror image, like the pattern a-b-b-a. The chiasmus in 1:15–17 refers to two groups of people. The first part of the passage refers to the same people as the fourth part does, and the second part refers to the same people as the third part does. Here is an example using summary statements:

┌ 15a Some preach about Christ out of envy

│┌ 15b Others ⌊preach about Christ⌋ out of goodwill

│└ 16 The latter do so in love

└ 17a The former preach about Christ out of selfish ambition

See “General Comment” on 1:15–17 regarding the possible need to reorder this section in your translation.

1:15a

It is true that: This translates a Greek particle used at the beginning of a contrast. Another such particle is used in 1:15b for the other half of the contrast (see “but”). Together they mean “on the one hand…on the other hand.” Do not try to translate this statement as referring to the truth of Paul’s words. Instead, use an expression that indicates the first half of a contrast.

some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry: Paul referred here and in 1:17 to certain Christians who were causing him trouble. These are probably some of the same people mentioned in 1:15. Apparently they wanted to have more followers than Paul.

preach Christ: This means to preach about Christ. Despite their wrong motives these people were believers who were announcing the message about Jesus Christ. Since Paul rejoiced that they were preaching, it appears that what they were saying about Christ was true (1:18d).

out of: This means “because of, motivated by” and introduces the reasons why some people were preaching about Christ.

envy: This refers to feeling ill-will toward someone because of his good fortune. These people were jealous of what Paul had done and that he had been more successful than they were.

rivalry: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates rivalry refers to the strife that envy causes. These people wanted to gain more disciples than Paul had. They wanted to surpass him and appear to others as more successful and important.

1:15b

but: This represents the second of two Greek particles that indicate the contrast between the two groups of people. See the “It is true that” note in 1:15a.

out of: This again means “because of, motivated by.” The reason for their preaching was these believers’ goodwill toward Paul.

goodwill: The word goodwill means that these believers liked Paul and wanted to help him spread the gospel. They were preaching with good intentions.

One way you could translate 1:15b is:

Others preach about Christ to help ⌊me and the work of the gospel⌋.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:14

1:14a

In the Greek this verse begins with a conjunction that could be translated as “and”. This verse tells another good thing that happened because Paul was in prison. If you need to make this connection clear, you could begin with a phrase like: “And that is not all.”

the brothers: See note on 1:12a.

1:14b

confident: This comes from the Greek word peithō. The form of the verb used here means “to be confident” or “to trust.” The Berean Standard Bible translates this same Greek word as “confident” in 1:6 and “trust” in 2:24, and as “convinced” in 1:25. It is recommended that you translate it with a term meaning “have been made confident” or “have been given confidence.”

in the Lord: It is not clear in the Greek text which part of the verse this phrase connects to. There are two possibilities:

(1) It should be connected to what follows it in the Greek text, that is, the verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “confident.” In this case the phrase “confident in the Lord” would mean “the Lord has caused them to be confident.” The brothers were more bold to tell about Christ because of this confidence that the Lord had given them. The majority of commentators support this interpretation. (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, God’s Word, New Century Version)

(2) It should be connected to what precedes it in the Greek text, that is, “the brothers.” This would then mean “believing brothers” or “Christians.” (New International Version, King James Version, Revised English Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

by my chains: Paul said that his chains had given the other Christians courage, but he did not say how this was done. He may have meant that they gained courage by seeing the way God had helped him while he was in prison.

1:14c

more greatly: In the Greek this is a verb form, literally “much more to dare.” The believers became much bolder/braver than they had been before. They knew some people were against the Christian message. That is why Paul was in prison. But when they saw Paul continue to speak about his Savior even though he was in prison, this increased their courage. If you have a verb meaning “to be brave,” you may use it here. In some languages it will be necessary to use an adjective meaning “bold, courageous” or an adverb meaning “boldly, courageously.”

the word: Some Greek texts have the full phrase “the word of God” and other Greek texts have simply the word. However, these two phrases clearly refer to the same thing, that is, “the message from God.” Therefore, it is recommended that you include the words “of God.”

without fear: This describes the way in which the believers preached. You may need to translate this as a separate sentence at the end of the verse. For example:

They are not afraid.

In some languages it may be necessary to provide an object specifying of whom the brothers were not afraid. If this is the case in your language, you may supply an object such as “unbelievers.”

General Comment on 1:14

In some languages it may be best to give the reason (1:14b) at the end of the verse. For example:

The Lord has caused the brothers to be more confident and to preach the word of God more boldly and without fear. This has happened because I have been in prison.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:25

1:25a

Convinced of this: Paul meant “Since I am sure of this….” Most commentators think that the word this refers to Paul’s conclusion in 1:24. The phrase would then mean “Since I am sure that it is more important for your sake that I continue to live.” See 1:25a in the Display.

1:25b

will remain and will continue: The two Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as remain and continue are from the same basic Greek word. Some commentators think that the word continue only adds emphasis to the word remain. But there are two main ideas here: Paul expected to remain alive and Paul expected to be able to remain with the Philippian believers. So in most languages this phrase is translated using two separate verbs. Some ways to do this are:

…my life will not end yet and I will still be with you
-or-
…I will continue living and I will still be able to help you.

1:25c

for your progress and joy in the faith: This means “[I shall remain with you ] in order that your faith and your joy in the faith will progress.” Paul believed that he would continue living in order to help the Philippian believers believe more and be more joyful as they trusted Christ. Another way you could express this is:

⌊ I shall continue to live⌋to help you believe more strongly and to help you rejoice because of your believing.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:12

Section 1:12–18d

Paul rejoiced that people continued to preach the gospel even though he was in prison

Paul explained in 1:12–18d the way the fact that he was in prison had affected other people. Paul believed that God was working in everything that happened to him. He saw something good happening when people preached about Christ, even when they preached for the wrong reasons. Some of the Christians apparently taught about Christ because they were jealous of Paul’s reputation as a teacher. But Paul was still happy because people were telling the good news about Christ.

Paragraph 1:12–14

Paul wrote that even though he was in prison, the gospel message was spreading.

1:12a

Now I want you to know: Paul pointed out that things had happened opposite to what the Philippians might have expected.

Now: Paul is starting a new subject or topic. In Greek this is marked by a particle, de, that the Berean Standard Bible has translated Now. If in your language there is a way to mark a transition or change of topic, you should use it here. Several English translations have left it implicit (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation), and this may be acceptable in your language. However, avoid translating the word literally. Its sense here is not as a time word.

brothers: The term brothers occurs here and also in 3:1, 3:13, 3:17, 4:1, 4:8. It refers to other Christians, fellow believers, not to literal brothers. You might translate this as “brothers and sisters,” “older and younger siblings” or “relatives.” But in some languages people use kinship terms only in the literal sense. If this is true in your language, a phrase such as “fellow Christians” or “fellow believers” would be better here. Whatever term you choose should be used consistently throughout the Bible whenever brothers is used to address other Christians.

In some languages it is necessary to put a term of address such as brothers at the beginning of the sentence. You should place this term wherever it is most natural in your language.

1:12b

my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel: The bad things that had happened to Paul did not prevent people from hearing the good news about Jesus Christ. Rather, they caused more people to hear the good news.

my circumstances: Paul did not specify what events he was thinking of here. Perhaps he was referring to his imprisonment generally or to something more specific. However, there is no way to be certain, so you should not try to make this event explicit here.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:11

1:11a

filled with the fruit of righteousness: This further explains the meaning of being “pure” and “blameless.” While “pure” and “blameless” imply the absence of sinful thoughts and actions, filled with the fruit of righteousness implies the presence of good thoughts and actions. Some translations (for example, Good News Translation) begin a new sentence with this phrase. For example:

Then you will be filled…

The idea of filled is figurative in this verse. It means “to be characterized by.” You may not be able to keep this figure of speech. Ways to translate this verb nonfiguratively will be discussed after the note on fruit of righteousness.

fruit of righteousness: The expression fruit of righteousness can be understood in two ways:

(1) fruit that consists of righteousness; righteousness is used in an ethical sense and refers to right conduct/behavior. (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)

(2) fruit that is produced by righteousness; righteousness is used in a legal sense and refers to a believer’s right standing before God (God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004))

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

General Comment on 1:11a

In many languages if the expression “filled with the fruit of righteousness” is translated literally it will not give the correct meaning. If this is true in your language, you should translate this part of the verse nonfiguratively. For example:

righteousness will characterize all you do
-or-
you will behave in a completely righteous manner

1:11b

through Jesus Christ: This means that a person’s life is righteous because of the power that Jesus Christ gives. A believer can only be righteous because Jesus Christ helps him to be.

General Comment on 1:11a–b

In some languages it may be better to make Jesus Christ the subject of 1:11a–b. For example:

Jesus Christ will fill you with the fruit of righteousness.
-or-
Jesus Christ will help you to do every good/right thing.

1:11c

to the glory and praise of God: Biblical scholars do not agree about how this phrase relates to the rest of the verse. There are three possible interpretations:

(1) It relates to the phrase “filled with the fruit of righteousness.” For example: “I pray that you may be filled with the fruit of righteousness for the glory and praise of God.” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)

(2) It connects with Paul’s prayer in 1:9a–11b. For example: “I pray that all of this may happen in you for the glory and praise of God.” This seems to be the interpretation of the New International Version.

(3) It relates to all of Paul’s thanksgiving and prayer (1:3–11) and is like a doxology. For example: “I end my thanksgiving and prayer with the desire that people glorify and praise God.”

Many English versions do not make a clear choice. However, it is recommended that you follow option (1), which has the best support among versions and commentators.

to the glory…of God: This means that the purpose is that people would honor God and tell others that he is great.

to the…praise of God: This means that the purpose is that people would thank God and speak well of him. Praise comes from those who are grateful that God is great and that he blesses them.

In some languages it may be necessary to combine the ideas of “glory” and praise into one phrase. Consider how, in your language, you would refer to giving respect to an honored guest, such as a king or a president. Some of those words may be appropriate in this phrase.

This phrase is at the end of Paul’s prayer, and in some languages it is necessary to clearly show where the prayer ends. In English we do this with “Amen.” You may need to end this verse with a phrase like:

That is what I am praying for you.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:10

1:10a

so that: The phrase so that shows that 1:10a gives the purpose of Paul’s prayer in 1:9; that is, as the Philippians’ love, knowledge and insight grew, they would be better able to discern what was best.

you may be able to test and prove what is best: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as able to test and prove implies not only that the Philippians would know what was best, but also that they would accept and approve it.

what is best: This refers to things that are truly good, things that are very important and worthwhile. This can include things people do, say and believe. Try to make it clear that the believers are to choose that which is very good.

1:10b

and: At the beginning of 1:10b there is a Greek word hina that means “that” or “in order that.” The Berean Standard Bible translates this word as and. This is a different Greek word than the Greek phrase eis to at the beginning of 1:10a, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as “so that.”

There are three basic interpretations as to what ideas the author was relating when he used the Greek connecting word hina here at the beginning of 1:10b:

(1) hina shows the purpose or intended result of the preceding clause. For example:

you will choose what is the right thing to do so that you may be genuinely good and not do anything wrong…” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version)

(2) hina shows another result (besides choosing what is best) of love abounding together with knowledge. (Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version)

(3) hina shows another thing Paul prayed for. For example:

I pray that you will know more about what God is really like and will be able to tell the difference between right and wrong, and ⌊I pray⌋ that you may be genuinely good and not do anything wrong…” (New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

pure: The Greek word translated pure means “separate from evil, innocent, free from wrong.”

blameless: The Greek word translated blameless means “without offense or guilt.”

The words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “pure” and blameless have almost the same meaning. Perhaps “pure” may emphasize internal goodness and purity, and blameless may emphasize outward actions. However, in some languages it may not be possible to use two separate words. If this is true in your language, you could use one term and add a word like “completely” to give extra emphasis. So you could translate this part of the verse as “completely pure” or “completely free from evil.”

for: The Greek word eis that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for can have one of two meanings:

(1) Many English translations state that Paul hoped the Philippians would be pure and blameless until Christ returns. These versions tend to use the word “until” or a word with a similar meaning. This also implies that they (and other believers) would continue to be pure and blameless after he returns. (New International Version, New American Standard Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), King James Version)

(2) for/on: Paul hoped that the Philippians would be blameless at the time of Christ’s return. These versions tend to use a word such as “for” or “on”. For example:

you will be free from all impurity and blame on the Day of Christ (Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

the day of Christ: See the note on 1:6b.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 2002

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:17

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:16

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:15

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:14

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:25

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:12

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:11

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:10

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