Verses 12 and 13 represent a long sentence in Greek. For the sake of clarity it is best broken into several shorter sentences.
With the connective so then Paul established the link between the Christological hymn and the practical exhortation. The Philippian Christians must have the attitude that Christ had (v. 5); thus, as Christ obeyed, so should they. The readers are addressed as dear friends (literally, “my beloved,” “my dear friends,” Goodspeed Jerusalem Bible). This expression, which appears again twice in 4.1, shows the warmth of the apostle’s affection toward his converts. It is a favorite expression, often used by Paul to introduce earnest appeals to his readers (1 Cor 10.14; 15.58; 2 Cor 7.1; 12.19, etc.).
In many languages the expression of direct address would come naturally at the beginning of the section. Therefore one may need to shift the order of so then, dear friends, employing such an expression as “dear friends, therefore, as you always obeyed me….”
In some languages, however, dear friends may seem out of place since the term friends itself would include a component of endearment, and the addition of an adjective such as dear would imply that there were other friends who were not dear. An equivalent expression of dear friends may in some languages be “you who are so friendly to me,” or “you who are so loved by me.”
The references to Paul’s presence and absence (literally, “not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence” King James Version) can be taken several ways. (1) A number of translations connect them with “work out your own salvation” (Goodspeed New American Bible Barclay Segond [Segond]). (2) Another possibility, though less likely, is seen in the Phillips rendering: “as you have always obeyed me—and that not only when I was with you—now, even more in my absence, complete the salvation….” Here he appears to connect presence with “obeyed” and absence with “work out salvation.” (3) A third possibility is to connect them both with “you have always obeyed” (Barclay Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch New International Version). The Greek word order indicates that this is preferable to (1). However, there is a difficulty in connecting the sense of “but now” with “obeyed.” (4) To avoid this difficulty New English Bible offers a variation of (3) by making the sentence into an imperative rather than a statement, thus “… must be obedient, as always; even more, now that I am away, than when I was with you.” (5) Still another variation is suggested by Good News Translation (so also Biblia Dios Habla Hoy Bible en français courant Translator’s New Testament). It supplies a command, you obey me, to the reference to Paul’s absence, thus: it is even more important that you obey me now while I am away from you.
The aorist verb obeyed is used without an object in Greek. A number of translations accordingly render the verse without supplying an object (including Goodspeed Moffatt Revised Standard Version New English Bible Barclay). Some commentators suggest “God” to be the object, but the sense is probably that of obedience to Paul as God’s messenger and to his instructions and guidance (cf. 2 Cor 7.15; 10.6; Philemon 21), and Good News Translation makes that explicit: as you always obeyed me (so also Bruce Phillips Translator’s New Testament; cf. New American Bible “obedient as always to my urging”; Jerusalem Bible “continue to do as I tell you”).
In some languages a literal rendering of as you always obeyed me when I was with you might suggest that when Paul was with the Philippian believers he was constantly commanding them to do certain things. It may be better, therefore, to render this clause as “in the same way as you always took my advice when I was with you.”
There may be some complications in the introductory part of this verse because of the three different connectives before the principal clause, namely, so then, as, and when. In many languages, this cluster of connectives would be too heavy a “preposed” set of structures. However, one can make certain modifications, for example, “Dear friends, when I was with you, you always took my advice. Therefore, it is even more important for you to obey me now, while I am away from you,” or “… take my advice now, while I am not with you any longer.”
To bring out properly the emphasis in the Greek text, Good News Translation restructures the following phrase (literally, “but now much more in my absence”) into it is even more important that you obey me now while I am away from you. This rendering makes it clear that the contrast of presence and absence is not to be taken in the sense of “during my life” and “after my death,” as is, in fact, advocated by some commentators.
The compound Greek present imperative, rendered “work out” by most translators, has the sense of continuing a work to its conclusion, thus keep on working … to complete (Barclay “keep on toiling”; cf. Eph 6.13). Keep on working should not be rendered in such a way as to refer merely to physical toil. A more satisfactory equivalent may be “keep on striving,” “give all your strength to,” of “endeavor very much to.”
Your salvation can hardly be taken in a personal sense. In Greek both the verb “work out” and the reflexive pronoun “yourselves” are plural. It is not an exhortation to the Philippian Christians to accomplish the personal salvation of the individual members. Paul is rather concerned about the well-being of their common life together as a community (cf. 1.28; 2.4). Paul often uses salvation to refer to the ultimate saving act of God which will reach its completion at the end of the world. For him it is primarily a future reality, an attainment of final blessedness (cf. 1 Cor 5.5), and a deliverance from approaching wrath (Rom 5.9; 1 Cor 3.15; 1 Thes 5.10). In the present context, however, the word can be taken in the broader sense of the restoration of the health and the spiritual well-being of the community (Mark 3.4; Acts 4.9; 14.9; 27.34).
A literal rendering of to complete your salvation could be understood to mean that individuals had complete responsibility for their personal salvation, but Paul always speaks of personal salvation as the act of God. This expression is better interpreted in the present context as “cause your well-being to be complete,” “cause nothing to be lacking in your well-being,” or “… in your state of well-being.”
The Philippian readers are encouraged to attain this goal with fear and trembling. This is a stereotyped Old Testament expression (see Psa 2.11; Isa 19.16) denoting humble reverence, dependence, and devotion to God. It does not appear in the New Testament apart from the Pauline writings. In every instance (here and in 1 Cor 2.3; Eph 6.5) it is used to describe the spirit of reverence and humility which should characterize mutual relationships within the Christian community. It is precisely with this spirit that Paul is urging the Philippians Christians to keep on working toward the restoration of the spiritual welfare of the community (see 2.2-4, 14; 4.2). A literal rendering of with fear and trembling might suggest that the Philippian Christians should be fearful of their enemies and tremble because of them. It may even be misleading to speak of “with fear and trembling before God,” or “while you are fearing God and trembling before him.” A more appropriate equivalent in a number of languages is “with complete devotion to God,” or “with complete reverence for God.”
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 .