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 .

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 .

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 .

Over against the enemies of Christ’s death on the cross (v. 18), Paul sets the citizens of heaven. Notice the twofold contrast, they / we and world / heaven, in verses 19-20.

We, however, are citizens of heaven is literally “for our citizenship is in heaven.” The possessive pronoun “our” is in an emphatic position in Greek. The Greek particle often translated “for” has here an adversative force and introduces a contrast. “For” is not a natural connective with the previous verse. It is therefore best rendered as however, “by contrast” (New English Bible cf. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), or “but” (Goodspeed Revised Standard Version La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée).

The noun “citizenship” appears nowhere else in the New Testament, although its corresponding verb is used in 1.27 and in Acts 23.1. One possible meaning would be “our manner of life is in harmony with heaven,” but the majority of translators favor another meaning, for example, “commonwealth” (Goodspeed Revised Standard Version), “citizenship” (New English Bible), “homeland” (Jerusalem Bible). However, since the focus in the context is on people, some modern translations employ the term “citizens,” thus we … are citizens of heaven (Good News Translation Phillips New English Bible). It seems clear that Paul uses this political imagery to describe the fact that true Christians are temporary resident aliens here on the earth, but that they have their citizenship in the heavenly commonwealth (Eph 2.6, 19; Heb 12.22). It may be added that biblical writers often use heaven as a way of talking about God (Matt 3.2; 21.25; 22.2; Luke 5.18, 21, etc.). Consequently, we … are citizens of heaven can mean that our citizenship is of divine origin.

In order to show clearly the distinction between being citizens of heaven and doing those things which belong to this world, it is possible to translate we … are citizens of heaven as “we belong to heaven,” “our homeland is heaven,” “heaven is our native country,” or even “heaven is the place where we really belong.”

And we eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven translates a Greek relative clause, literally “out of which also we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Since the relative pronoun traditionally rendered as “which” is singular, while heaven in Greek is plural, some commentators insist that the pronoun can refer only to “commonwealth.” This interpretation seems unnecessary, however, in view of the fact that the use of the plural number for heaven is a Semitism. Furthermore, “out of which” can be taken adverbially in the sense of “whence.” For this reason the majority of modern translators render explicitly from heaven (Phillips New English Bible Jerusalem Bible etc.).

The word rendered “wait” in a number of translations is a strong compound verb suggesting earnest expectation; it is often used in connection with the second coming of Christ (Rom 8.19, 23; 1 Cor 1.7; cf. Gal 5.5). This sense is reflected in several translations: eagerly wait (Good News Translation Phillips Barclay cf. Goodspeed New American Bible), “expect” (Bruce New English Bible).

Several aspects of the word Savior should be noted. First, it is in an emphatic position in the Greek text. Secondly, it is without a definite article, and therefore is to be understood in a descriptive sense, not a title of reference. The emphasis is thus on the role or capacity of the Savior (New English Bible “deliverer”) in his final return. Thirdly, it is a term rarely used as a title for Jesus in the New Testament. This infrequent use is probably due to the popular use of the same term in reference to the gods of the Greek religion and in emperor worship. It is quite possible that Paul deliberately uses Savior here to counter the claim of heathen emperor worshipers.

Since the focus here is on Jesus’ rule as Savior, the designation Lord Jesus Christ appears to serve only as a kind of proper name. But underlying this designation is an early Christological confession, “Jesus Christ is Lord” (see the discussion under 2.11).

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 .

Now, the important thing is is an idiomatic equivalent of a single word in Greek (literally, “only”). This clause also serves to bring out the emphatic nature of the imperative statement which follows (Bruce “see to it that”; Phillips “make sure that”; Knox “you must”). The adverb now should not be understood merely in a temporal sense. Rather, it serves as a transition from what is said in the preceding verses to the implications which must be drawn from it. In some languages an appropriate transitional would be “and so accordingly the important thing is…,” or “and so what is important is that….”

Your way of life should be translates a Greek verb which means literally “behave as citizens.” Elsewhere in the New Testament the verb occurs only in Acts 23.1. The verb originally meant “to live the life of a citizen” or “to live as a member of a community.” Later it came to be applied to all moral conduct within a community. Paul usually uses another Greek word (meaning literally “to walk about”) for Christian conduct (e.g. Eph 4.1; Col 1.10; 1 Thes 2.12). He uses a more distinctive term here probably to emphasize his Philippian friends’ mutual duties as members of a local Christian community. Your way of life may be rendered as “the way in which you live,” “how you behave,” or simply “what you do.”

As the gospel of Christ requires is literally “be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” The gospel of Christ is best taken objectively, meaning “the good news about Christ” (1 Cor 9.12; 2 Cor 2.12; 1 Thes 3.2). It may be awkward in some languages to speak of “the gospel requiring” anything. Only people can be said to require certain kinds of behavior. However, it may be possible to say “as the gospel about Christ says you should live.” One may then translate this rather complex relation as “what is important is that you live in the way that the good news about Christ says you should live,” or “… that you live in accordance with the demands in the good news about Christ.”

There is no doubt that so that should go with I will hear that you are standing firm etc., with the clause whether or not … introduced between the two elements.

Whether or not I am able to go and see you translates a Greek phrase with three participles (literally “whether coming and seeing you or remaining absent”). Because of the somewhat irregular construction in the Greek, some commentators suggest an emendation. They would change the finite verb I will hear into a participle and link it with the third participle in the series (“remaining absent”), which they would take adverbially. This suggestion is followed by some translators, for example, “whether I come and see you for myself or hear about you from a distance” (New English Bible); “whether I come and see for myself, or stay at a distance and only hear about you” (Jerusalem Bible cf. New American Bible Phillips Knox Goodspeed). If this emendation is followed, one has to supply a finite verb, such as “I may know” or “I may learn,” for the following clause. The meaning seems quite clear, however, even without the emendation (cf. Good News Translation Revised Standard Version).

A translator may find it particularly difficult to embed the clause whether or not I am able to go and see you within the purpose clause introduced by so that. Accordingly, it may be better to continue with the purpose clause and then reintroduce certain aspects of that clause in order to relate it more clearly to the conditional expression introduced by whether, for example, “so that I will hear that you stand firm…; I want to hear that whether or not I am able to go and see you.” In some languages there is no convenient way of indicating succinctly a positive or negative condition such as may be introduced in English by “whether or not.” The closest equivalent may simply be “if I am able to go see you, that is fine; and if not, that is also fine,” or “if I am able, or if I am not able, to go see you….”

I will hear is literally “I may hear the things concerning you,” but since the details of “the things” are mentioned in the following clause, this phrase is omitted in Good News Translation. The basic meaning of the verb translated are standing firm is simply “to stand” (Mark 3.31; 11.25), but in Pauline contexts it usually has the added component of firmness (2 Thes 2.15; 1 Cor 16.13). The metaphor could be that of soldiers standing firm in battle or of condemned believers fighting for their lives in a Roman amphitheater (Eph 6.13; 1 Cor 4.9). In a number of languages the positive idiom “to stand firm” must be expressed negatively as “not to be moved,” “not to change,” or “not to give up.”

With one common purpose is literally “in one spirit” (Revised Standard Version). It is sometimes argued that Paul is here referring to the divine Spirit. But the context seems to indicate clearly that the united purpose of the Philippian Christians is meant (New English Bible “one in spirit”; Knox “common unity of spirit”; Jerusalem Bible “unanimous”). With one common purpose may be expressed in some languages as “by all intending the same way,” “by all of you having the same goal in mind,” or “by all of you wanting to do the same.” With one common purpose is essentially equivalent to with only one desire.

The order of the Greek allows some ambiguity in the phrase with only one desire (literally “one soul”). It can be interpreted as in apposition with the “one spirit” which immediately precedes it (so New English Bible “one in spirit, one in mind” and Goodspeed “with one spirit, one purpose”), or it can be interpreted as modifying the following participle fighting together. Good News Translation chooses the latter alternative and clarifies its choice by supplying and that. Another means of clarification is used by New American Bible, which supplies the connective “and” and rearranges the word order (“and exerting yourselves with one accord”). “Spirit” and “soul” are sometimes used almost interchangeably in the New Testament (Luke 1.46-47; John 11.33; Acts 4.32; 1 Cor 16.18). If a distinction must be made, “spirit” would be used of the mind with its activities of thought and reflection, whereas “soul” would be used of the seat of inward feelings, affections, passions, and desires. The term “soul” in this context is rendered in various fashions by various translators: New English Bible “one in mind”; Moffatt “like one man”; Bruce New American Bible “with one accord” (cf. Jerusalem Bible “united by your love”).

You are fighting together translates a Greek participle which means literally “striving together with.” The compound verb used here is used elsewhere only in 4.3. The simple verb, from which the word “athletics” is derived, occurs in 2 Tim 2.5 in the sense of “contesting in the games.” The metaphor is taken from an athletic contest or from war. The present context seems to favor the latter. Both Moffatt and Goodspeed render the participle as “fighting side by side” (New English Bible “contending as one man”). In rendering fighting together, it is essential to employ a form which will not suggest “fighting against one another.” It may be useful to employ such an expression as “join together in fighting for.” In some languages, however, the metaphor of “fighting” would be inappropriate in this type of context. It may be preferable to use such an expression as “to work hard for,” or “to put all one’s strength in order to help.”

The expression the faith of the gospel appears only here in the New Testament. Faith is in the dative case in Greek and this can be taken as an instrumental dative, resulting in the rendering “with the faith of the gospel” (Knox). Good News Translation, however, along with most translations, takes it to be a dative of interest and so renders for the faith of the gospel. The word faith seems to be used here in the semitechnical sense of the content of the gospel (Eph 4.5).

The genitive construction the faith of the gospel can be taken as in apposition, that is, “the faith which is the gospel.” It can also be interpreted as an objective genitive, “the faith in the gospel.” It seems better, however, to take it in the sense of “the faith which is appropriate to the gospel,” or “the faith which is based on the gospel.” If it is interpreted this way, “the gospel” may have an attributive force, thus “the gospel faith” (New English Bible). It is important to note that Paul is urging his readers to fight for “the faith appropriate to the gospel,” not for “the gospel which is believed.”

A more or less literal translation of the faith of the gospel leads almost inevitably to a misunderstanding which makes faith essentially equivalent to the good news or the content of the good news. If, however, one interprets the faith of the gospel in terms of faith which is appropriate to, or based upon, the gospel, it may be necessary to make the relation quite explicit, for example, “fight for the kind of trust which results from the good news,” or “… the kind of faith which those who believe the good news have.”

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 .