| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1From Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons. | 1This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and deacons. |
| 2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! | 2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer |
| 3I thank my God every time I remember you. | 3Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. |
| 4I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you | 4Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, |
| 5because of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. | 5for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. |
| 6For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. | 6And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. |
| 7For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God's grace together with me. | 7So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. |
| 8For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. | 8God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. |
| 9And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight | 9I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. |
| 10so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ, | 10For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. |
| 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. | 11May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ —for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Paul’s Joy That Christ Is Preached |
| 12I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel: | 12And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. |
| 13The whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ, | 13For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. |
| 14and most of the brothers and sisters, having confidence in the Lord because of my imprisonment, now more than ever dare to speak the word fearlessly. | 14And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear. |
| 15Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. | 15It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. |
| 16The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel. | 16They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. |
| 17The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment. | 17Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. |
| 18What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, | 18But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. |
| 19for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. | 19For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance. Paul’s Life for Christ |
| 20My confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die. | 20For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. |
| 21For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. | 21For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. |
| 22Now if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean productive work for me, yet I don't know which I prefer: | 22But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. |
| 23I feel torn between the two, because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, | 23I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. |
| 24but it is more vital for your sake that I remain in the body. | 24But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. |
| 25And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress and joy in the faith, | 25Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. |
| 26so that what you can be proud of may increase because of me in Christ Jesus, when I come back to you. | 26And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me. Live as Citizens of Heaven |
| 27Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that--whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent--I should hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, | 27Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. |
| 28and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation--a sign which is from God. | 28Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. |
| 29For it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him, | 29For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. |
| 30since you are encountering the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing. | 30We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it. |
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