I know here has the force of “know for sure” or “know well” (New English Bible “knowing well”).

The help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ is literally “the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” There are two genitive constructions here, and their meaning may be explained in a variety of ways. The first one, “the supply of the Spirit,” can be taken as an objective genitive, making the Spirit that which is given (so Moffatt “as I am provided with the Spirit of Jesus Christ” and New English Bible “the Spirit of Jesus Christ is given me for support”). Another possibility, which appears to suit the context better, is to take the construction as a subjective genitive. In this case, the Spirit would be the giver, thus “the help which the Spirit of Jesus Christ gives,” or as Good News Translation renders it, the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ (cf. New English Bible alternative rendering “the Spirit of Jesus Christ supplies me with all I need”).

The second genitive construction, “the Spirit of Jesus Christ,” occurs only here in the New Testament. Some take the phrase as in apposition, meaning “the Spirit, which is Jesus Christ.” This interpretation does not seem to fit the context well. Others take it to mean “the Spirit that is promised or given by Jesus Christ” (cf. Mark 13.11; Luke 12.12; John 16.7). However, in the Pauline letters the Spirit is usually said to be given by God the Father (cf. 1 Cor 6.19; 2 Cor 1.22; 5.5; Eph 1.17; Gal 3.5; 1 Thes 4.8). We are left, then, with another possibility. Just as the Holy Spirit is referred to as “the Spirit of Christ” (Rom 8.9; cf. 1 Peter 1.11) and “the Spirit of his Son” (Gal 4.6), it may well be that the expression is used in this context simply as another name for the Holy Spirit.

Help translates a Greek word which means “rich provision” (cf. Phillips “resources”).

Your prayers and the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ are essentially the means by which Paul is set free. This relation may be expressed in some languages as cause, for example, “your prayers and the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ will cause me to be set free.” In other languages it may be indicated as “because of your prayers and because of the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ, I shall be made free.”

I shall be set free is literally “this to me shall turn out to be salvation.” The exact meaning or reference of the term “salvation” in this context is debated. Some take it in its fullest sense, that is, final salvation in the Day of Christ. Others interpret it in the general sense of a person’s total well being (Goodspeed “highest welfare”; Knox “soul’s health”; Phillips “good of my own soul”). Still others maintain, on the basis of the Septuagint of Job 13.16 which Paul apparently quotes, that the reference is to the ultimate vindication of the apostle’s stand for Christ. In view of Paul’s prospect of seeing his Christian friends again (see v. 26 and 2.24), the Good News Translation rendering, which favors this interpretation, seems preferable. Paul is thinking of his vindication and the resulting release from prison (Moffatt “the outcome of all this, I know, will be my release”). New English Bible employs the more generic term “deliverance,” which could cover all the interpretations.

I shall be set free may be rendered as “I shall be delivered,” or “I shall be untied.” In some languages an active expression is required, often with a kind of indefinite subject, for example, “men shall cause me to be free,” or “men shall unbind me.”

Quoted with permission from Luo, I-Jin. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .