The apostle begins with an elliptical expression, literally, “not that.” What is understood here can be made explicit in various ways: “it is not to be thought that” (New English Bible), “I do not mean that” (Bruce Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), I do not claim that (Good News Translation Barclay).

I do not claim may be rendered simply as “I do not say.” It is also possible to transform this into a negative imperative, for example, “Do not think that.”

The Greek verb rendered I have … succeeded (literally, “received”) is without an object, but some translations supply “this” as the object of the verb. Commentators are divided as to what its object is. Some suggest that it is all that is included in verses 8-11, while others believe that Paul is referring to his resurrection from the dead in verse 11; still others interpret the object as the prize referred to in verse 14 (cf. 1 Cor 9.24-25). Another possibility is to render the verb in such a way as to leave the object open, somewhat parallel to have already become perfect. These suggestions are really not mutually exclusive, as the Good News Translation rendering of verse 14 indicates.

The prize is identified as God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above (v. 14), which appears to correspond to the hope of being raised from death to life (v. 11). The verb rendered have … succeeded means “to receive,” “to obtain,” “to get hold of,” but in the present context (and especially in the environment of its compounded verb, which appears twice in this verse) it acquires the sense of “to achieve” (New English Bible), “to reach” (New American Bible) or even more explicitly “to win the prize” (La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée). The aorist tense here is to be taken in the sense of summing up the whole course of events. Its force is best brought out the perfect tense in English, thus “I have reached” (New American Bible), “I have achieved” (New English Bible), and I have already succeeded.

It may be essential in some languages to make explicit the goal of succeeded. Sometimes this may be done by translating “that I have accomplished all I should have accomplished,” “that I have done all that I should have done,” or “that I have become all that I should become.” This last expression is more in accord with the phrase that follows.

Several witnesses, including an early third century papyrus, add “or have already been justified” after I have already succeeded. This is probably a secondary addition, reflecting a pious copyist’s desire to emphasize the divine initiative in Christian life.

The clause or have already become perfect (literally, “or have already been perfected”) further defines the preceding clause, I have already succeeded. It is obvious that the conjunction or connects two similar, not two contrastive, events. In view of this evident meaning of or, it may be preferable to use a conjunction such as “and.” In this way one may avoid giving the impression that succeeding and becoming perfect are two distinct and alternative processes. The verb translated have … become perfect appears nowhere else in Paul’s writings, but it appears frequently in the Letter to the Hebrews. It is one of the key words of the mystery religions which promised “perfection” to their initiates by means of sacramental rituals and secret knowledge. “Perfection” is the highest state of religious attainment. It is possible Paul borrows this word from the mystery religions in order to deny the possibility of a Christian’s being admitted to the highest state of the Christian life in the present world. The verb means “to attain the aim,” “to bring to completion,” “to be full grown,” “to be mature.” In verse 15 the cognate adjective is rendered spiritually mature. The word denotes primarily not a moral but a functional perfection. A glance back at the preceding verse suggests that what Paul has in mind is that “perfection” which will be his only when he is raised from death to life. Most likely this “state of perfection” is a reference to, and a description of, the state of the resurrected life (v. 11), namely, the life above (v. 14).

Have already become perfect may be rendered as “have already become the kind of person I should be,” or “have already become all that I should be.” In some languages it may be necessary to explain this in a negative manner, for example, “have become the kind of person for whom there is nothing lacking.”

I keep striving to win the prize is literally “but I pursue if I may also grasp.” The force of “if also” is not that of doubt, but of expectation, thus “in hope of” (Knox), “hoping to” (New English Bible), “to try to” (Barclay), or striving to (Good News Translation). The first verb is a term used in hunting, meaning, “to pursue”; it can be used of foot racing in the sense of “to press on.” The present tense signifies a repeated action, thus I keep striving. This verb is sometimes paired with the next compound verb (which means “to grasp”) in the sense of “seek and find,” “pursue and overtake,” “chase and capture,” etc. (cf. Rom 9.30; also Exo 15.9 Septuagint). This compound expression signifies a strenuous attempt to reach the set goal which is not yet within one’s grasp. Very likely the metaphor of a race is in Paul’s mind. If this is the case, one can render the second verb explicitly as “to grasp the prize” (New American Bible), “to capture the prize” (Jerusalem Bible), “to seize the prize” (Bible en français courant), or to win the prize (Good News Translation).

To show the contrast between the expression I keep striving to win and the immediately preceding phrases, it may be important to introduce at this point a contrastive particle such as “rather” or “but,” for example, “rather, I keep going on to try to win.”

A verb expression such as striving helps to indicate strenuous activity and suggests a basis for the figurative usage of run in verse 14. The phrase can also be translated, to give this same emphasis, as “I keep trying very hard to win,” or “I keep using all my strength to try to win.”

What Paul goes on to say is literally “upon which also I was grasped by Christ Jesus.” The expression “upon which” can be taken in two different ways. It can be rendered “because,” making Christ’s “capture” of Paul the reason for Paul’s effort to win the prize (Moffatt Goodspeed Revised Standard Version). Or it can be taken in the sense of “for which,” meaning Paul’s effort to win the prize is to fulfill the purpose for which Christ won him on the Damascus Road (New English Bible Jerusalem Bible Good News Translation). The second interpretation appears to be preferable. Good News Translation, along with other recent translations, changes the passive “I was grasped by Christ Jesus” to an active construction, Christ Jesus has already won me to himself.

The clause for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself may be misunderstood if translated literally, especially since the relative pronoun which might refer merely to the prize, in which case the implication would be that Christ Jesus himself had also been interested in winning this particular prize. The relative pronoun which, however, refers to the entire preceding clause. Therefore it may be better to translate this final clause of verse 12 as “It was for this reason that Christ Jesus has already won me to himself,” “This was the purpose Christ Jesus had in mind when he won me to himself,” or “This is what Christ Jesus purposed in winning me to himself.”

It seems easy enough in many languages to speak of “winning a prize,” but “to win a person” may be so unusual as to be meaningless or even misleading. One may therefore translate won me to himself as “caused me to be his,” or “caused me to follow him.”

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 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 .

I know here has the force of “know for sure” or “know well” (New English Bible “knowing well”).

The help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ is literally “the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” There are two genitive constructions here, and their meaning may be explained in a variety of ways. The first one, “the supply of the Spirit,” can be taken as an objective genitive, making the Spirit that which is given (so Moffatt “as I am provided with the Spirit of Jesus Christ” and New English Bible “the Spirit of Jesus Christ is given me for support”). Another possibility, which appears to suit the context better, is to take the construction as a subjective genitive. In this case, the Spirit would be the giver, thus “the help which the Spirit of Jesus Christ gives,” or as Good News Translation renders it, the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ (cf. New English Bible alternative rendering “the Spirit of Jesus Christ supplies me with all I need”).

The second genitive construction, “the Spirit of Jesus Christ,” occurs only here in the New Testament. Some take the phrase as in apposition, meaning “the Spirit, which is Jesus Christ.” This interpretation does not seem to fit the context well. Others take it to mean “the Spirit that is promised or given by Jesus Christ” (cf. Mark 13.11; Luke 12.12; John 16.7). However, in the Pauline letters the Spirit is usually said to be given by God the Father (cf. 1 Cor 6.19; 2 Cor 1.22; 5.5; Eph 1.17; Gal 3.5; 1 Thes 4.8). We are left, then, with another possibility. Just as the Holy Spirit is referred to as “the Spirit of Christ” (Rom 8.9; cf. 1 Peter 1.11) and “the Spirit of his Son” (Gal 4.6), it may well be that the expression is used in this context simply as another name for the Holy Spirit.

Help translates a Greek word which means “rich provision” (cf. Phillips “resources”).

Your prayers and the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ are essentially the means by which Paul is set free. This relation may be expressed in some languages as cause, for example, “your prayers and the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ will cause me to be set free.” In other languages it may be indicated as “because of your prayers and because of the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ, I shall be made free.”

I shall be set free is literally “this to me shall turn out to be salvation.” The exact meaning or reference of the term “salvation” in this context is debated. Some take it in its fullest sense, that is, final salvation in the Day of Christ. Others interpret it in the general sense of a person’s total well being (Goodspeed “highest welfare”; Knox “soul’s health”; Phillips “good of my own soul”). Still others maintain, on the basis of the Septuagint of Job 13.16 which Paul apparently quotes, that the reference is to the ultimate vindication of the apostle’s stand for Christ. In view of Paul’s prospect of seeing his Christian friends again (see v. 26 and 2.24), the Good News Translation rendering, which favors this interpretation, seems preferable. Paul is thinking of his vindication and the resulting release from prison (Moffatt “the outcome of all this, I know, will be my release”). New English Bible employs the more generic term “deliverance,” which could cover all the interpretations.

I shall be set free may be rendered as “I shall be delivered,” or “I shall be untied.” In some languages an active expression is required, often with a kind of indefinite subject, for example, “men shall cause me to be free,” or “men shall unbind me.”

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 .

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 .