| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 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. | 1Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: |
| 2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer | 2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 3Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. | 3I thank my God every time I remember you. |
| 4Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, | 4In every prayer for all of you, I always pray with joy, |
| 5for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. | 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, |
| 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. | 6being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. |
| 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. | 7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me. |
| 8God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. | 8God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. |
| 9I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. | 9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, |
| 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. | 10so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, |
| 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 | 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. |
| 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. | 12Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel. |
| 13For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. | 13As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. |
| 14And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear. | 14And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear. |
| 15It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. | 15It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. |
| 16They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. | 16The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. |
| 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. | 17The former, however, preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains. |
| 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. | 18What then is the issue? Just this: that in every way, whether by false motives or true, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, |
| 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 | 19because I know that through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, my distress will turn out for my deliverance. |
| 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. | 20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. |
| 21For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. | 21For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. |
| 22But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. | 22But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know. |
| 23I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. | 23I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed. |
| 24But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. | 24But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. |
| 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. | 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, |
| 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 | 26so that through my coming to you again your exultation in Christ Jesus will resound on account of me. |
| 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. | 27Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, |
| 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. | 28without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and it is from God. |
| 29For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. | 29For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, |
| 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. | 30since you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. |
|
