Translation commentary on Philippians 2:28

I am all the more eager, then, to send him is literally “I sent him, therefore, the more eagerly.” Here “I sent” is probably to be taken as an epistolary aorist (cf. 2.25). The Greek comparative adverb rendered all the more eager should not be taken in the sense of “more hastily.” It is used, rather, in the sense of “more eagerly,” referring to the spirit in which Paul dispatches his fellow-worker, not to outward haste. Paul’s eagerness may be expressed as a type of desire, for example, “I want all the more, therefore, to send him to you,” or “that is why I want so much to send him to you.”

The Greek word order seems to suggest that the adverb again is best taken with glad, and in Good News Translation (cf. New American Bible), rather than with see, as in Revised Standard Version and New English Bible. The Philippians’ cheerfulness had been clouded by Epaphroditus’ sickness; they would certainly regain their cheerfulness at his safe return.

The apostle identifies himself so closely with his readers that their sorrow and anxiety are his own. If Epaphroditus’ safe return will mean the restoration of their happiness, then, he says, my own sorrow will disappear (literally, “I might be the less sorrowful”). The adjective “less sorrowful” appears only here in the New Testament. It means “to be free from sorrow” or “to be relieved of anxiety.” My own sorrow will disappear is part of the purpose introduced by the conjunctive phrase so that. It may be necessary to repeat the expression of purpose, for example, “so that you will be glad again when you see him, and so that my own sorrow will disappear,” or “… so that I will not have sorrow any longer.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Philippians 4:9

Not only must the Philippians take into account all that is generally considered good and worthy, they must put into practice what the apostle has exemplified in his words and deeds.

There are considerable differences of opinion as to the connection and arrangement of this verse. There are four verbs (“learned … received … heard … saw”), each preceded by the conjunction normally translated “and.” We must decide first how to translate the conjunctions. Grammatically, they can be taken in two basic ways. First, the obvious one is to take them as a series of conjunctions. But since the first one cannot be taken as “and” (as it does not stand between grammatical elements of the same type), it can be left untranslated (Revised Standard Version) or be rendered “also” (Moffatt). Secondly, it is possible to take the four conjunctions as forming two pairs of “both … and.” Variation of this basic pattern can be seen in dropping either the first “both” (Good News Translation Phillips) or in dropping both of them (New American Bible Bruce). In either case the underlying meaning remains the same.

The second question, related to the first, has to do with understanding the relation of the four verbs. It is possible to leave the question open by stringing all the verbs together (King James Version Revised Standard Version). However, one can understand the first three verbs as referring specifically to Paul’s teaching and the last to his example in life—thus Goodspeed: “Do the things that you learned, received, and heard from me, and that you saw me do” (cf. also La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). For translations that understand the conjunctions as consisting of “both … and” pairs, two possible renderings are possible. The first is to take the first pair as referring to Paul’s teachings and the second pair to his example, thus: “You must keep putting into practice the lessons you have learned from me, the instruction you have received from me, and the example I have given you in speech and in action” (Barclay). The second possibility is suggested by Good News Translation, that is, to take what the Philippians heard and saw as the content of what they learned and received, thus what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions (cf. also Phillips Bruce New American Bible).

Notice again the word order. In Greek the order is “what you learned and received from me … these things put into practice.” However, since the main verb and therefore the focus is on “put into practice,” a number of translations, including Good News Translation, restructure the order by beginning the sentence with the main verb.

The verb rendered put into practice is in the present imperative and indicates continuous action, so it can be rendered “you must keep putting into practice” (Barclay).

The verb rendered received is a technical term used for receiving a tradition (1 Cor 11.23; 15.3). Before the writing of the New Testament books and their acceptance by the church as authoritative Scripture, the teachings were handed down from a teacher to his disciples. Christian tradition in the New Testament generally consists of certain facts about Christ, interpretations of them, and ascribed Christian conduct based on them (1 Cor 11.23; 15.3 ff.; Gal 1.9; 2 Thes 2.15).

Put into practice is often rendered simply as “do,” and the verbal doublet learned and received may be best rendered in some languages simply as “learned,” since in this type of context received can only refer to what was actually learned from Paul. It is possible to render received in such a way as to suggest an implied tradition, for example, “what you learned, that I passed on to you.” In other languages it may be more natural to restructure the whole clause as “what I taught you and passed on to you” (cf. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

The words from me are not in the Greek, but are understood from the phrase “in me” in the following clause.

Both from my words and from my actions (literally, “you both heard and saw in me”) is another way of saying “what you heard me say and what you saw me do” (Moffatt).

And the God who gives us peace will be with you is literally “and the God of peace will be with you.” As in 4.7, the conjunction and again points to what follows, and can therefore be rendered “and so” or “as a result.” “God of peace” obviously does not mean a peaceful God. In the Bible the emphasis in not upon the qualities of God but upon his acts. In this case, God is the one who gives us peace (cf. Rom 15.33; 16.20; 1 Thes 5.23). Us here is inclusive. The focus here is on “God who gives peace,” not on “peace which comes from God” as in 4.7 (see the discussion there). In this context it would seem appropriate to understand this phrase in the sense of “the God who causes us to rest in our hearts,” “… who frees us from anxieties,” or “… erases our worries.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Philippians 1:5

Paul now gives the reasons for his “joy” (not for his “thanksgiving” in verse 3, as Revised Standard Version suggests). The way in which you have helped me translates a Greek noun phrase “your partnership” (Revised Standard Version) or “your fellowship” (King James Version [King James Version]). The basic meaning of the word translated “partnership” is “participation in something with someone,” but it can have a more restricted meaning, that of “contributions” or “gifts” (cf. Rom 15.26; 2 Cor 9.13; Moffatt “what you have contributed to the gospel”). For this reason some commentators suggest that Paul is here referring to the Philippians’ tangible expression of Christian partnership, their gift of money. This interpretation may well be true, but the context seems to indicate that Paul is using “partnership” in a wider sense and hence refers to all the cooperation and share in the work of the gospel which the Philippians have shown, whether it be in the spreading of the gospel, in sympathy, in suffering, or in generosity.

Because of the way in which you have helped me may be rendered in some languages as “because of how you helped me,” “… how you made it easier for me,” or “… how you made it possible for me.”

In the work of the gospel is literally “into the gospel.” The word “gospel” originally meant a reward for bringing good news, but later it came to be used for good news itself, often the joyous news of victory in war. In the New Testament it always means good news itself and refers to the salvation that God has made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The word appears nine times in Philippians and is used in a variety of ways. It is the message about Jesus Christ that is proclaimed (1.5; 4.15), defended (1.7, 16), promoted, spread, and advanced (4.3; 1.12; 2.22). It is also the standard of Christian living and basis of faith (1.27). The phrase in this context is not a reference to the Philippians’ sharing in accepting Paul’s preaching, but rather to their active participation in the work of the gospel. It may therefore be expressed as “in proclaiming the good news to others,” or “in the telling of the good news to others.”

The phrase from the very first day is obviously a reference to the beginning of Paul’s mission to Philippi (cf. Acts 16.12 ff.), and it may be essential to indicate this temporal relation. It may be rendered in some languages as “from the first day I was in Philippi until now,” or, perhaps better, “from the very first day you believed until now.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Philippians 2:7

Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had is literally “but emptied himself.” “Himself” in Greek is emphatic by position, indicating that it was his own doing, so Good News Translation makes this explicit: of his own free will. This may be expressed in some languages as “he was happy to…,” “he was glad to…,” or “he was willing to give up all he had.”

The verb “to empty” has given rise to the so-called “kenotic” theory of incarnation. Undue theological exploitations have cast a heavy shadow on its meaning. It should be said at the outset that the verb must be understood metaphorically, not metaphysically. It says nothing about Christ stripping himself of his divine attributes as has sometimes been suggested. While it is probable that the Suffering Servant passage in Isaiah has some bearing on the present hymn, it is not necessary to see in “to empty” an allusion to Isa 53.12 (“he poured out his soul to death”) and make it refer to the death of Christ. The event of Christ’s death is referred to later, in verse 8.

The verb “to empty” is used elsewhere in the Pauline Epistles four times (Rom 4.14; 1 Cor 1.17; 9.15; 2 Cor 9.3), and in each instance it is used metaphorically in the sense of “to bring to nothing,” “to make worthless,” or “to empty of significance.” Context should always determine the meaning; and in the present context the verb refers back to what immediately precedes and its action is explained by the words which immediately follow. Instead of holding onto his privileges, Christ gave up his divine rank by taking on the nature of a servant. The Good News Translation rendering brings out this meaning, he gave up all he had (Goodspeed “but laid it aside”; Phillips is even more explicit, “but he stripped himself of every advantage”). What was given up is not simply the opportunity to become equal with God, but the equality with God itself, namely Christ’s divine status or rank of dignity and glory (John 17.5). Unless one is careful in the translation of he gave up all he had, the implication may be that Jesus lost completely all of his divine attributes. Accordingly, some translators prefer to use as a substitute for the phrase all he had such a phrase as “his status” or his high position.

And took the nature of a servant translates a participial phrase, literally, “taking the form of a slave.” The aorist participle denotes that the action is simultaneous or contemporaneous with that of the main verb, “he emptied.” It also has an explanatory force; that is, Christ surrendered his divine rank “by taking” the nature of a servant. The word rendered nature in this clause is the same as the one used in verse 6. Obviously the nature of a servant is intended as a sharp contrast to the nature of God. Christ did not disguise himself as a servant; he became a servant, expressing in his deeds complete and absolute submission to the will of God. The heart of the matter is to show that Christ gave up the highest possible status and took on the lowest possible role. Christ did not merely exist in a servant’s condition; he lived in humble service. In order to make the expression took the nature of a servant contrast with had the nature of God, it is important that the two expressions be as parallel in form as it is possible. For example, if had the nature of God is rendered as “was just like God,” one may then translate took the nature of a servant as “he was just like a servant.” In such an expression, of course, one must avoid any terminology which would suggest mere pretense.

The author of the hymn goes on to define the path of humiliation which Christ took with a pair of synonymous parallelisms. He became like man is literally “becoming in the likeness of men.” Both participles, namely “taking” and “becoming,” involve a change in status and role. “Becoming” here can also be taken in its so-called “etymological” sense of “being born” (Revised Standard Version New American Bible “being born in the likeness of men”). The word “likeness” suggests similarity, but this does not mean that Christ’s humanity is unreal (cf. Rom 8.3; Heb 2.7, 14). In Greek, the plural form of man is used, emphasizing the fact that Christ became like a member of the human race in general, not like any particular individual. In order to emphasize the concept of “humanity” in the term man, it may be important to translate he became like man as “he became just like people.”

Many translations place and appeared in human likeness in verse 8. But the structure of the hymn suggests that the verse division followed by Good News Translation and Jerusalem Bible is to be preferred.

To stress Christ’s likeness to other men, the author of the hymn goes on to say and appeared in human likeness (literally, “and being found in the form as a man”). Likeness translates the other word of “form,” denoting outward shape and appearance rather than inherent nature. The compounds of these two “forms” bring out vividly the difference between the inward and the outward aspects (see Rom 8.29; 12.2b; 2 Cor 3.18; Gal 4.19; Phil 3.10 for inner, spiritual process; Rom 12.2a and 1 Peter 1.14 for a process affecting that which is outward). It should be noted, however, that Paul is not here suggesting a discrepancy between appearance and underlying reality. What he means to emphasize is that Christ’s likeness to men in general is a real likeness: “he came as man in the world and lived as a man” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

In many languages a verb such as appeared is expressed in a quite different manner: someone “sees” who or what appears. Therefore appeared in human likeness may need to be expressed in such languages as “people saw him just like a man.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Philippians 3:9

Be completely united with him is literally “be found in him.” Some commentators take this phrase as a reference to the final judgment (“the Day of Christ”) or specifically to the time of the apostle’s death (Moffatt “be found at death in him”). There seems to be no indication, however, that Paul is thinking of any particular moment in his life. More likely he has in mind the whole course of his Christian life. As the punctuation of Good News Translation suggest, the phrase is to be taken closely with the preceding phrase, of which it is an expanded explanation. To gain Christ means to be completely united with him.

The formula “in him” (along with “in Christ,” “in me,” and “in you”) is one of the most characteristic Pauline phrases. It points to the closest possible union between Christ and the believer (see the discussion under 1.1). This close bond is best expressed in the apostle’s own words: For what is life? To me, it is Christ (1.21). It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me (Gal 2.20). The sense of this intimate relationship is brought out in various ways: New English Bible “incorporate in him”; Barclay “to make my life one with his”; Good News Translation completely united with him (so also Biblia Dios Habla Hoy Bible en français courant).

And be completely united with him should be rendered in substantially the same way as other expressions involving the phrase “in Christ” or “in the Lord,” for example, “becoming completely one with him,” or “being bound closely to him.”

Paul moves on to define “complete union” by means of his understanding of what is generally known as the doctrine of justification by faith, which is the main object of his letter to the Romans (especially chapters 1-8), and to a large extent also of his letter to the Galatians. In effect, he is claiming that to be in Christ is nothing else than having the righteousness which comes from God through faith in Christ.

In Greek there is a chiastic structure (or “chiasmus”—from the Greek letter chi, which has the form X) in the following clauses:

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 .

Translation commentary on Philippians 4:20

Paul closes his expression of thanks with a doxology, praising God for his greatness and goodness.

The wording of the first clause in Greek (literally, “to God and our Father”) presents some problems. It is possible to take the conjunction “and” in the explanatory sense: thus “to God, that is, our Father,” the latter term defining the former. The resultant rendering would be: “to God our Father” (Jerusalem Bible Bible en français courant Traduction œcuménique de la Bible cf. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). In view of the fact that both nouns share one article, the pronoun “our” should probably be taken with both nouns: to our God and Father (Good News Translation Revised Standard Version New English Bible New American Bible etc.). In some languages this coordinate construction must be rephrased as “to our God our Father,” deleting the conjunction and repeating the possessive pronoun.

The word glory in this context has the components of “praise” and “honor.” The expression forever and ever describes the duration in which men should praise God. In a number of languages this type of doxology can only be expressed as something which all people should do, for example, “All people should forever praise and honor our God, who is our Father,” In other languages the doxology may be expressed as “We should praise our God and Father forever and ever. Amen,” or “Let us give honor to our God our Father forever and ever. Amen.” “We” should be inclusive.

The expression Amen is a Hebrew form of affirmation meaning “truly” or “so be it.” It indicates solemn assent in prayers. The word may be transliterated if it is already known and used in the receptor language. Otherwise it may be translated as, for example, “surely this is true,” “this is certainly the way it should be,” or “so be it.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Philippians 1:16

King James Version follows the Received Text in reversing the order of verses 16 and 17. This change seems to have been made to conform the text to the order of the two classes of preachers mentioned in verse 15; but the change is not supported by the best textual witness, and it is not followed in most translations. The authentic text has a chiastic (crisscross) order; that is, verse 16 discusses what is mentioned in verse 15b, and verse 17 refers to the content of 15a.

These do so from love is literally “the ones on the one hand out of love.” Paul does not say for whom. One possibility is “out of love for him,” meaning Christ (so German common language translation [Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch]). The context indicates, however, that love is directed to the apostle, for he is dealing with the influence of his imprisonment on the preaching of the gospel. Moffatt translates explicitly “the latter do it from love to me” (New English Bible “moved by love for me”; Phillips “out of their love for me”).

In rendering these do so from love, it is important to make certain that these points to the last mentioned group, namely, the others who preached Christ from genuine good will. It may be necessary to say “these latter do so from love.”

Good News Translation renders a Greek causative participle by a finite verb: because they know (Goodspeed Phillips “for they know”; Knox “because they recognize”).

God has given me the work translates a single Greek verb which literally means “I recline” or “I am set” (Barclay [Barclay] “I am lying in prison”). It is a military term describing a soldier posted as a sentinel (Bruce “I am posed here”), but the term can also be used figuratively with the meaning of “to be appointed” or “to be chosen” (cf. Luke 2.34). The appointment to defend the gospel comes from God, and Good News Translation makes this fact explicit: God has given me the work. If this interpretation is adopted, the word defending may have the sense of “vindicating.”

God has given me the work implies that God had assigned the particular work to Paul by way of a direct command. It may be appropriate to indicate this in some languages in the form of direct discourse, for example, “God has said to me, This is your work,” or “God said to me, Your work is to defend the good news.”

As in Pp. 1.7, of defending the gospel may be rendered as “to show that the good news is true,” or “to prove that the good news is right.”

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 .

Translation commentary on Philippians 2:18

In this verse the Philippian Christians are called upon to be happy about their sacrifice and to share their joy with the apostle. As there is a correspondence in sacrifice, so also there must be a correspondence in joy. Thus you too must be glad and share your joy with me. A perfect Christian comradeship!

In some languages one may be compelled to indicate the basis for gladness. And so it may be necessary to translate you too must be glad as “you, too, must be glad because of what is likely to happen,” or “… because of what will happen.” Similarly, share your joy with me must parallel the expression in verse 17, share my joy with you all. Accordingly, one may translate share your joy with me as “cause me to have joy as you do,” or “cause me to join with you in being happy.”

It may be difficult to speak of “sharing one’s joy” with others. The only way in which joy may be “shared” in some languages is to “cause others to be joyful.” Therefore, share my joy with you all must be rendered as “cause you all to have the same kind of joy that I have,” or “cause all of you to rejoice in some measure as I rejoice.”

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 .