Paul usually closed his letters with a benediction (1 Cor 16.23; Gal 6.18; Col 4.18; 1 Thes 5.28; 2 Thes 3.18). The central element in all benedictions is the grace. It certainly means more than “favor” (New American Bible), as the term is usually understood. It expresses the love and mercy which God shows and gives through Jesus Christ to people who do not deserve it. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is not to be thought of as something distinct from “the grace of God,” but rather as an expression of it. In Paul’s letters, God and Christ are so identified that he can speak in one breath of the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thes 1.12; cf. Rom 5.15; 1 Cor 1.3). Since grace here refers essentially to an event, the expression the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ must not be interpreted as a character or quality of Jesus, but as something that he shows and does. For this reason, it may be desirable to express this benediction in some languages as “may the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace,” “I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ may continue to show you grace,” “… show you his great kindness,” or “… be so kind to you.”

The phrase be with you is literally “be with your spirit.” Since the word “spirit” is often used in the sense of “person” or “oneself,” the Good News Translation rendering is preferable. In the Greek text the pronoun rendered you all is plural.

Some manuscripts conclude with an “Amen” (King James Version). Most likely it was not present in the original but was added by copyists in accordance with liturgical practice. Otherwise it would be difficult to account for its omission in many early manuscripts.

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 .