2:15a

so that: The Philippians should not complain and argue. This was in order that they could become blameless. 2:15 gives the purpose for 2:14.

blameless: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as blameless means to behave in such a way that a person cannot be criticized for doing wrong. Paul said that the Philippians should behave in such a way that people could not call them evildoers. A common English expression for blameless is “no one can find fault with you.” Some people might still try to say the Philippian believers had done wrong, but if the believers were blameless, no one could criticize them honestly or justly.

pure: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pure means “sincere, upright.” It means that a person does not intend to do evil.

General Comment on 2:15a

The words “blameless” and “pure” mean almost the same thing and are intended to strengthen each other. If you do not have two words similar in meaning in your language, then use one word or phrase and add extra emphasis. For example:

truly righteous

2:15b

without fault: The Greek literally means “without blemish.” This term was used to describe the sort of animals the priests were commanded to offer as sacrifices to God in the temple in Jerusalem. These animals could not have anything wrong with them or any ugly marks on them. Here the term is used figuratively and means for a person to have nothing morally wrong with him.

The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as without fault here and “blameless” in 2:15a are different, but they have almost exactly the same meaning. Some translators have omitted the phrase without fault because it is awkward to repeat the same idea. But it is better to try to show Paul’s emphasis on the fact that God’s children should be morally upright. One way to do this is to translate the phrase “children of God without fault” using a word such as “perfect”:

God’s perfect children (Good News Translation)
-or-
perfect children of God (Jerusalem Bible)

crooked and perverse generation: This refers to people who did evil continually. The two words crooked and perverse mean basically the same thing. Together they can mean “very evil.” Paul may have quoted this whole phrase from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 32:5). Here he used it to refer to the non-Christians around the Philippian believers.

crooked: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as crooked literally means “twisted, bent.” Here it is used figuratively to refer to people who are crooked, unjust, or dishonest in their behavior.

perverse: This is very similar in meaning to “crooked.” The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as perverse literally means “distorted.” It is used figuratively to mean “perverted, corrupt.” Here it refers to people who are evil, those who are morally corrupt.

generation: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as generation normally refers to people who are alive at the same time. It can also refer to a group of people who all have the same character. In 2:15b generation refers particularly to those who did not believe or obey the good news.

2:15c

in which you shine as lights in the world: This simile compares Christian believers to stars shining in the dark sky at night. They should be good people living for God in a world of evil people. This is a figure of speech comparing good behavior to light and evil to darkness. Jesus also used this comparison (Matthew 5:14–16).

If this is not a common way of speaking in your language, then you may need to make the points of comparison clear. Or you may need to avoid the metaphor altogether. For example:

The way you act should be very different from the way evil people act.

shine: The word shine means “give light.” This is a metaphor for Christians displaying God’s truth and goodness by the way they behave. The form of the verb here can be understood in two ways:

(1) It is a command. Paul was telling the Philippian believers how they were to behave, that is, they were to “shine like stars”. (Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version)

(2) It is a statement. It refers to what the Philippians were already doing. For example:

You shine among them like stars (Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, God’s Word, New Century Version)

The context, especially 2:16b, seems to imply a command rather than simply a statement. However, if you wish to follow interpretation (2), you could translate it as:

You give/shed light among them like stars give light in the sky.

lights: The Greek word can refer to

(1) “heavenly lights, bodies, stars”; (New International Version, Good News Translation, New Century Version, God’s Word, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible)

(2) “lights” in general or “objects that shine.” This could include lamps and beacons as well as the sun and the moon and the stars. (Berean Standard Bible, NET Bible, Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New American Standard Bible)

It is recommended that you follow the majority of translations and commentaries and translate this as “stars.”

world: The Greek word kosmos means “the physical universe” or “the world [of people].” If you follow interpretation (1) above and use “stars” rather than “lights,” you should translate this as referring to the physical universe.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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