Paul begins his greetings by saying literally “Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.” The verb “greet,” a common word in the New Testament, is the word regularly used to convey greetings at the end of a letter. Its modern equivalent is “give my greetings to” (New English Bible New American Bible), “give my good wishes to” (Barclay), “remember me to” (Goodspeed), or simply greetings to. In some instances one may translate greetings to each one of God’s people as “I send these words to each one of God’s people,” or “I want each one of God’s people to know that I remember them.”

The word “saint” is not a description of the moral character of Christians; it refers rather to the fact that they belong to God. It is therefore usually best to render it as God’s people (New English Bible; cf. Barclay “God’s dedicated people”). (See the discussion under 1.1.) Notice that the greetings are addressed to each one of God’s people. Paul is careful to include the whole Philippian community in his expression of love and care.

The expression “in Christ Jesus” can be taken with greetings, so “give my greetings, in Christ Jesus” (New American Bible cf. Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), or “give my greetings in the fellowship of Christ” (New English Bible). It appears better, however, to connect it with God’s people, thus God’s people who belong to Christ Jesus, “all the people of God, fellow members of Christ Jesus” (Bruce cf. Moffatt Jerusalem Bible Traduction œcuménique de la Bible).

The word brothers (Barclay “fellow Christians”) is often used synonymously with God’s people (“saints”). It is impossible to determine who are included in this expression, but certainly Timothy would be one of them (cf. 1.1).

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 .