Translation commentary on Philippians 2:21

It is difficult to tell whether Paul is here making a parenthetical statement as to the general state of the world around him, or is making a harsh and sweeping indictment of his associates. It is, of course, clear that apart from Timothy there was no one he could count on at the moment. Everyone else is concerned only with his own affairs is literally “that all seek after their own thing.” The verb rendered is concerned is literally “seek” or “look after”; the meaning is that everyone is pursuing his own interests. In some languages one may translate this statement as “everyone else thinks only about helping himself,” “… thinks just about how he can make everything turn out to his own advantage,” or “… thinks only about how he can advance himself.”

The cause of Jesus Christ (literally, “the things of Jesus Christ”), refers probably to the work that is to be done for Jesus Christ in restoring the harmony of the Christian community at Philippi. Not with the cause of Jesus Christ may be expressed by “not thinking about how he can help Jesus Christ,” or “not concerned about how he can do what Jesus Christ would want.”

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 4:2

Euodia and Syntyche were presumably members of the church at Philippi. Evidently there was some disagreement between them. These women in verse 3 obviously refers back to them.

In his appeal to them Paul repeats the verb “I urge,” indicating his eagerness in trying to resolve their disagreement. Good News Translation tries to capture this sense by rendering “I urge” as please, I beg you.

Try to agree as sisters in the Lord is literally “to think the same thing…” or “to have the same mind in the Lord.” The expression try to agree as sisters (rendered having the same thoughts in 2.2) means much more than to agree in thought or opinion; it means rather to strive after a unity and harmony in life which is possible because of their common bond in the Lord. No sisterhood is possible without the lordship of Christ. In this context the familiar phrase in the Lord may have the meaning of “in submission to the Lord.” A literal rendering of try to agree as sisters might suggest to some readers that Euodia and Syntyche were, in fact, close kin. It may be better in some languages to render sisters in a manner parallel to the way in which brothers is translated, namely, “as fellow believers.” In this type of context in the Lord may be made more specific by rendering this phrase as “by obeying the Lord.”

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 1:30

The Greek of this verse is somewhat obscure. It means literally “having the same conflict such as you saw in me, and now hear in me.” The participle “having” agrees with “you” of the previous verse; so “you” is the logical subject of the participial clause. The emphasis is on the word “same,” and several translations (including Good News Translation) make this fact explicit: now you can take part with me in the battle; “take your part in the same struggle” (Goodspeed); “you and I are together in the same fight” (Jerusalem Bible); “you and I are engaged in the same contest” (New English Bible). The Greek word translated battle applies originally to athletic contests in the arena, but it is also used of any inward or outward struggle (Col 2.1; 1 Thes 2.2; cf. 1 Tim 6.12; 2 Tim 4.7; Heb 12.1).

As already suggested in connection with the term fighting in verse 27, it may not be possible to preserve the metaphor of battle in verse 30. Sometimes, however, one can speak of “struggle” or “conflict,” and in other instances the closest equivalent may be “severe opposition.” Since the conflict is essentially one in which Paul is defending the gospel, it may be important to make this aspect more specific. For example, verse 30 may be rendered as “Now you can join me in my struggle to defend the good news. This is the same struggle which you saw me having in the past, and I am continuing in my struggle to defend the good news even as you now hear.”

For a smoother connection, Good News Translation repeats the battle (in the battle … the same battle). The Greek verb rendered you saw is in the aorist tense, referring to incidents in the past. Most translations make this information explicit: you saw me fighting in the past (Good News Translation); “you saw me fighting before” (Jerusalem Bible); “you saw how I fought it once” (Knox). The fight to which these words refer is recorded in Acts 16.19-24 (cf. 1 Thes 2.2). Since the emphasis is on the same kind of fight which the Philippians are encouraged to engage in, Good News Translation uses the word same.

As you hear … I am fighting still is literally “now you hear in me.” “In me” is to be taken in the sense of “in my person,” that is, I am fighting still personally, a reference to Paul’s present imprisonment as he awaits trial.

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 3:2

In Greek the imperative watch out for is repeated three times in this verse. Thus the earnestness and seriousness of the warning is quite apparent. This warning is not against three different groups of people, but against the same group described in three ways. For this reason a number of translations, including Biblia Dios Habla Hoy and Good News Translation, retain only one imperative and restructure the verse into one sentence with a series of appositional clauses. A literal rendering of watch out for can suggest merely “looking around in order to see.” It is important, therefore, to employ a rendering which will clearly mean “beware of” or “be on your guard against.”

Most probably Paul’s opponents were gnostic Jewish Christians who insisted on combining the gospel with the Law. These people are characterized by extremely derogatory terms. Those who do evil things, literally, “evil workers” or “malicious workers,” is reminiscent of the “deceitful workmen” mentioned in 2 Cor 11.13. It is possible that there is a play on words here, a censure against those Judaizers who teach a salvation by “works,” not by faith. The focus, however, seems to be on their works rather than their teachings, so a more generic statement like that of Good News Translation seems desirable. Those who do evil things may be rendered simply as “those who do what is bad” or “those who do what is wrong.” This should not be merely an expression meaning “sinners.”

Dogs were regarded by the Jews as despicable and miserable creatures. They are usually mentioned with contempt in the Old Testament (1 Sam 24.14; Psa 22.16, 20). In Rev 22.15 the word “dogs” stands for those who are so impure that they are barred from the Holy City (cf. Matt 7.6; 15.26). This is the most insulting term of abuse applied by orthodox Jews to Gentiles. Here Paul turns it around and applies it to those Jewish Christians who misrepresent the gospel and subvert the faith.

In English the translation those dogs, in apposition with the clause who do evil things, is very effective. But in some languages it would be understood only as a kind of appositional explanation of “evil things.” Therefore one must often make the phrase those dogs into a complete sentence or into another relative clause, for example, “they are like dogs” or “who are dogs.” In some languages, a word for “dogs” does not carry the bad connotations associated with it in Greek and, to a somewhat lesser extent, in English. It may, therefore, be necessary to qualify the term as “bad dogs” or “foul dogs.”

Those men who insist on cutting the body translates a noun in Greek which means literally “the cutting” (Jerusalem Bible “the cutters,” New English Bible “mutilation”). This word puns on another Greek word meaning “circumcision.” New English Bible adds explicitly “mutilation—‘circumcision’ I will not call it” (cf. Barclay). The “circumcision” is for the Jews a proud title, used to refer to the community set apart as God’s people. But Paul denies those erring Jewish Christians this honored title, instead, he calls them mockingly “the cutters,” comparing them to the self-inflicted mutilations of the prophets of Baal (1 Kgs 18.28). Self-mutilation, which was practiced in pagan cults, is explicitly forbidden in the Law (Lev 21.5).

In some languages the appositional phrase those men who insist on cutting the body may need to be rendered as a separate sentence, for example, “They are men who insist on cutting the body.” Since a literal rendering of cutting the body could suggest “cutting up the body,” it may be necessary to say “make cuts on the body,” or “cut off a part of the body.”

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 4:13

Paul now gives the source of his strength to face all situations: literally, “I have strength for all things in him who strengthens me.” The clause “I have strength for all things” is generally taken to mean “I can do all things” (so Revised Standard Version New English Bible Jerusalem Bible New American Bible). It is also possible, and, in view of the context (vv. 11-12), desirable, to interpret “all things” in the sense of all conditions (Barclay “with any situation”). To face all conditions may be expressed as “regardless of what happens,” or “it makes no difference what happens.”

It is generally understood that “him” in the participial phrase “in him who strengthens me” refers to Christ. It is best to make this meaning explicit, thus “through Christ who gives me power” or by the power that Christ gives me. Verse 13 must sometimes be restructured so as to indicate the causal relation between what Christ does and the strength which Paul has, for example, “Christ causes me to be strong in every kind of circumstance,” or “Christ causes me to have the power to face….”

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 1:9

The Greek has the word “this” before the content of Paul’s prayer (“I pray this: that…”), but normally this addition would be superfluous in translation.

Your love should not be restricted to the Philippians’ love for God, for Paul, or even to their love for one another. It is much more likely that Paul has in mind the most comprehensive Christian love. In some languages your love may seem to abstract, and this expression may be better rendered as “your loving heart.”

Furthermore, in some languages it is not possible to speak of “love growing more and more,” although one may say “I pray that you will keep on loving more and more.” Again, it may be necessary to indicate in some languages who is loved, and therefore one may need to translate “that you will love one another more and more.”

True knowledge and perfect judgment are essential elements of love. “Love” should keep on growing (present tense), that is, it should develop into and be accompanied by spiritual and moral insights. The word translated true knowledge is frequently used by Paul to convey the idea of a mental grasp of spiritual truth and especially that practical and experiential knowledge of God which is available to those who have become Christians. Perfect judgment (literally “all insight” or “all perception”) appears only here in the New Testament. It refers to a person’s ability to make moral decisions. The adjective “all” is not intensive, but extensive; that is, it signifies “every form of” perfect judgment (New English Bible “insight of every kind”).

True knowledge and perfect judgment may be viewed as the result of increased love, and so they may be indicated in some languages as result, and in other languages as purpose. On the basis of this type of interpretation, one may translate “that you may love one another more and more, and as a result have true knowledge and perfect judgment.” On the other hand, one may understand true knowledge and perfect judgment as an accompanying feature of love and accordingly translate “that you may love one another more and more, and at the same time have true knowledge and perfect judgment.”

In a number of languages it is necessary to translate knowledge and judgment as verbs, and this requires syntactic restructuring, with resulting expressions such as “that you may know what is true and judge perfectly,” or “… judge in a completely right way.”

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 2:11

All is literally “every tongue.” This expression, like “every knee,” is a poetic way of saying “everyone” or “all.” The verb translated openly proclaim usually indicates an open profession of faith (cf. 1 Tim 3.16). It can also be rendered “confess” (Revised Standard Version New English Bible), “acclaim” (Jerusalem Bible), or “openly declare” (Barclay). Note that verses 10-11 express the purpose of the exaltation: “and so (so that) … will openly proclaim (future indicative).” In some languages openly proclaim is best expressed as “will say to everyone,” or “will say when everyone is listening.”

The content of the acclamation is Jesus Christ is Lord. Here we have one of the earliest Christological confessions of the church preserved in the New Testament (cf. Rom 10.9; 1 Cor 12.3). Lord is the most common title applied to Jesus by the early church. It is the word employed in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew “Yahweh.” It can be used in the general sense of “master” or “sir,” but when it is applied to Jesus, it has a unique Christological significance. When Jesus Christ is acclaimed as Lord, he is installed in the place which properly belongs to God alone. This means that Jesus Christ has sovereignty over the entire universe. Lord is emphatic by its position in the sentence. Since this is a creedal statement, the words may be placed within quotation marks (so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch New English Bible Translator’s New Testament).

In many languages the equivalent of Lord must occur with a so-called possessive pronoun, since it is impossible to anyone to be merely Lord; he must be Lord of certain persons, that is, “the one who controls” or “the one who gives orders to” those persons. Therefore Lord must be rendered in many instances as “their Lord.”

The ultimate purpose in giving homage to Jesus Christ and in acclaiming him as Lord is to be to the glory of God the Father. This is equivalent to saying “so that all will praise God.” (For the fuller meaning of “glory,” see the discussion under 1.11.) With these words the hymn draws to an appropriate close. The authority of the Son is derived from the Father. Only God the Father has the ultimate sovereignty (1 Cor 15.28; Rev 3.21; John 13.31; 17.1).

In order to show quite clearly how to the glory of God the Father relates to what has immediately preceded, it may be necessary to make the connection more specific, for example, “in saying this about Jesus, they will be showing honor to God the Father.” In some languages the equivalent of glory in this type of context is simply “to show honor to” or “praise to.” In certain languages, however, it is possible to use idiomatic equivalents, for example, “to lift up the name of,” or “to show how magnificent God is.”

As in the case of Lord, it may also be necessary in some languages to indicate the relation of Father to those who claim him as Father. That is, a term such as “Father” is obligatorily possessed. In this context it may be necessary to say “God their Father,” or, perhaps in a more general sense, “God our Father.”

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 3:13

In this verse Paul repeats and expands what he has said in the preceding verse. He says literally “Brothers, I do not count myself to have grasped.” “I myself” is emphatic in Greek, with the force of “I on my part” or, as Good News Translation renders it, of course … I really. The phrase of course may be rendered in some instances as “you may be sure,” while my brothers, or “my fellow believers,” must in some languages be placed at the beginning of the verse

The verb rendered think often occurs in a commercial context, meaning essentially “to calculate.” It is a favorite Pauline term and is often used in the sense of carefully weighing the point under consideration; thus it can mean “reckon” (New English Bible) or “consider” (Revised Standard Version Phillips). The compound verb discussed under verse 12, where it is used twice, is here used for the third time. The perfect infinitive form, which appears here without an object, is translated as I have already won it. The object it, supplied translationally, obviously refers to the prize (Bible en français courant “have won the prize”).

Paul proceeds with an elliptical but forceful statement, literally “but one thing.” Several attempts have been made to bring out the exact force of this expression. Some supply the idea of thinking (Moffatt “my one thought is”); others of speaking (New English Bible “all I can say is this”; cf. Jerusalem Bible). However, the context seems to indicate that one thing refers to what follows, which is a matter of doing. Accordingly, the force and sense of this expression is perhaps best rendered as “but one thing I do” (American Standard Version), or, more forcefully, the one thing I do, however (Good News Translation).

Paul uses the pictorial images of a race to describe the single-mindedness of his purpose. Is to forget what is behind me is in Greek a present participial phrase. The present participle signifies that his forgetting is a continuous action: “keep forgetting.” What is behind me could be a reference to his life in Judaism, but more probably it includes his achievements as a Christian. The runner has lost when he turns back to see what is behind him. To translate to forget what is behind me in a strictly literal fashion is to risk the introduction of a wrong connotation, since this might imply that Paul wished to forget even the mistakes he had made. In this context it may be preferable to translate to forget as “to pay no attention to” or “to refuse to be concerned about.” In reality Paul was not trying to forget; he simply refused to be concerned about what was behind him.

Do my best to reach what is ahead translates another participial phrase, literally “stretching forward to the things that are before.” The participle is a double prepositional compound which pictures the runner with his eyes fixed on the goal, his hand stretching out to it, and his body bent toward it. It is a graphic description of the runner’s intense desire and utmost effort to reach the goal (Barclay “to strain every nerve to reach”). It may be difficult to speak of what is ahead without being more specific, for example, “the goal which is ahead,” or “the end of the race which is ahead.” Thus the figurative expression of running introduced in verse 14 is anticipated. It is also possible to use a more general expression, for example, “to accomplish what I must do in the future.”

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 .