A number of translations render the conjunction used here as “only” (Goodspeed Moffatt Revised Standard Version New English Bible etc.). Such a rendering suggests that there must be a condition which needs to be satisfied, but it is not likely that Paul is introducing a parenthetical thought. Rather, he is making a kind of concluding statement, and one can best bring out the meaning by rendering the conjunction as “this one thing I say” (Barclay), “it is important that” (Phillips New American Bible), or however that may be (Good News Translation).

What the apostle says next is somewhat elliptical, literally “whereunto we have reached, by the same to walk.” Reflecting what appears to be the effort of some ancient copyist to remedy this obscurity, some inferior Greek texts (those which underlie the Textus Receptus on which King James Version is based) include the word “rule” after “the same” and an appended clause “think the same thing.” These interpolations seem to have been made on the basis of Phil 2.2 and Gal 6.16.

The infinitive “to walk” is used in an imperative sense. It seems basically “to stand in a row” or “to walk in line.” Even without inserting the word “rule,” some kind of “rule” or “standard” may be understood as implied in the verb, and is demanded by the context. For this reason Good News Translation renders the clause explicitly as let us go forward according to the same rules. One can also translate “we must live up to the standard” (Barclay “Let us never fall below the standard of conduct”). Or one may keep the metaphor of the race by rendering “we must continue the course in accordance with the same rules.” Let us go forward may be rendered in some instances as “let us continue to live,” or “let us continue to act.” It may, however, be important to restructure the relation of activity to rules by saying “let the same rules tell us what we should do,” or “let us continue to do what the same rules say.”

The verb rendered we have followed originally meant “to come before” or “to anticipate,” but in the New Testament it is generally used in the sense of “to come,” “to arrive at,” or “to reach.” The clause can be translated as we have followed until now or “we have obeyed thus far.”

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 now turns to speak about Epaphroditus, commending him and explaining his situation. It is difficult to be certain whether Epaphroditus is still with Paul as this letter is being written or has already begun his journey back to Philippi. If he is still with Paul, he will be the bearer of this letter. The verb I have thought, which is in the aorist tense, is then taken as a so-called “epistolary” aorist; that is, the writer puts himself in the position of the reader for whom, when the letter arrives, the writer’s present thoughts and actions would be matters of the past. In English, however, one would normally render the verb in the present or the perfect tense. This view is favored by most modern translators, thus “I feel” (New English Bible), “I think” (Moffatt Jerusalem Bible), or I have thought (“I have decided” New American Bible).

Since Epaphroditus is obviously a member of the Philippian community, both New English Bible and Good News Translation render our brother (inclusive our) rather than the exclusive “my brother” (Revised Standard Version New American Bible). The expression means “our fellow-Christian” (Barclay) Our brother may be expressed in some languages as “our fellow believer.” But such an expression must be extended even further in some languages as “one who believes in Jesus even as we do.”

Who has worked and fought by my side translates two Greek compound nouns, literally, “my fellow-worker and fellow-soldier.” These terms refer to Epaphroditus as Paul’s partner in his labor and fight for the cause of Christ and the gospel (Barclay “who has done Christ’s work and fought Christ’s battle with me”). The expression “fellow-soldier,” occurring elsewhere only in Philemon 2, reminds us that Christian work is a battle (cf. 1.27 ff).

A rendering of the verb has worked should not suggest mere physical activity—“tent making,” for example. What is important here is that Epaphroditus had “worked for the gospel.” Also, it may be misleading to use the military figure of speech suggested by fought by my side. This could suggest to some readers that Paul and Epaphroditus were actually soldiers, or that they had fought together against lions in some arena where Christians were being persecuted. One can, however, preserve something of the concept of a struggle by rendering fought by my side as “joined me in defending the good news.”

Epaphroditus is further described as “your apostle and minister of my need.” In the New Testament “apostle” is often used in the technical sense of “the Twelve,” that is, the apostles chosen by Jesus, and “minister” is understood as “one who performs priestly functions.” It is not likely that the special sense of either of these terms is intended here. Furthermore, the coordinate construction “apostle and minister” is best taken as forming one event, the latter being the semantic goal of the former. Thus one can render “your messenger to serve my need” (cf. New English Bible Jerusalem Bible New American Bible). By transforming this phrase into a relative clause parallel to the preceding clause, we have the Good News Translation rendering, who has served as your messenger in helping me. This may be rendered in some languages as “who has been your messenger in coming to help me,” or “he has been your messenger who has come and helped 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 .

The Philippians had more than enough reason for worry and anxiety in the hostility of their neighbors and the threat of persecution (1.28; 3.1; 4.1). To them Paul offered the following words of comfort and hope.

Don’t worry about anything is literally “in nothing be anxious.” The verb rendered worry here is the same verb used in 2.20. There it has the positive sense of “to care” (for someone), but here is has the negative sense of anxiety, a lack of trust in God’s care (Matt 6.25-34; cf. 1 Peter 5.7). Don’t worry about anything is often expressed idiomatically, for example, “Do not eat up your own heart,” “Don’t let your thoughts kill you,” or “Don’t let your thoughts take away your strength.”

What Paul goes on to say involves a rather long and complex clause. It is advisable to restructure this clause in order to bring out the meaning more clearly. The clause may be translated literally as “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Revised Standard Version). There is an obvious contrast between the phrase “in everything” here and “in nothing” in the preceding clause. “In everything” is sometimes taken in the sense of “always,” denoting time (Moffatt), and sometimes in the meaning of “in every situation” or “in every circumstance of life” (Bruce cf. Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). The majority of translations, however, take it in the sense of “all things,” that is, all one’s interests.

There is still another possibility. “In everything” may be connected with the two following nouns, and so have the meaning “in all prayer and supplication” (Vulgate). This combination is more in line with modern speech, and is apparently the one favored by Good News Translation. However, Good News Translation does not regard these two nouns as representing two distinct forms of prayer. It is true that the word generally rendered “prayer” is commonly used in the general sense of man’s approach to God, and the word rendered “supplication” is normally employed in the more restricted sense of making request for one’s own needs or the needs of others, but in Paul’s letters the two words are often used interchangeably. Consequently, there seems to be no need to press for a precise difference between the two terms; they are linked together to convey inclusiveness, and so Good News Translation renders in all your prayers. The phrase in all your prayers may, of course, be rendered as “whenever you pray.” In some languages this would be expressed as “whenever you talk to God.”

The literal “let your requests be made known to God” is a third person imperative construction which must be restructured in many languages. One can rephrase it as “make your requests known to God” (Moffatt New English Bible), or, even better, a straightforward “present your needs to God” (New American Bible), “tell God about the things you want to ask him for” (Barclay), or simply ask God for what you need. The word “requests” usually denotes things asked for rather than the specific act or form of prayer. What you need may be expressed doubly in some languages as “what you should have but do not have,” or “what is important for you, but which you still do not have.”

Always asking him with a thankful heart (literally, “with thanksgiving”) is the accompanying attitude which should go with every act of prayer, an attitude arising from a remembrance of God’s goodness in the past and a realization of his blessings in the present. In Paul’s view, a thankful heart is an important element in prayer; this is evident in his fondness for pairing “prayer” and “thanksgiving” together (Col 4.2; 1 Thes 5.17-18; 1 Tim 2.1; cf. 1 Thes 3.9-10). Asking him with a thankful heart may be expressed as a combination of two verb phrases, for example, “always express your thanks to him, when you ask him for something,” “whenever you pray to him, be sure to express thanks,” or “… to say that you are thankful to 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 .

As in all situations, Paul changes conventional Greek and Hebrew greetings into a Christian benediction and couples God and Jesus Christ as the sources of all blessings. Many translations render this benediction quite literally, following the Greek word order, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Revised Standard Version New English Bible cf. Moffatt Bruce New American Bible), but Good News Translation translates it in a more straightforward and more natural manner (cf. Goodspeed “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace”).

The phrase grace and peace, combining the Christian concept of “grace” with the Jewish view of “peace” (both terms either related to or involved in standard greetings), is a formula often used in early Christian greetings. Grace expresses God’s love to sinful people who do not deserve it—the love manifested in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Peace in this context means not simply an absence of troubles or anxieties, but a state of total well-being, a wholeness of life resulting from forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to God through Jesus. The ultimate source of grace and peace is obviously God, whom Jesus revealed as Abba Father, but to the extent that such blessing is made possible only through Jesus, who is confessed as Messiah (Christ the anointed King) and exalted as Lord by his resurrection (2.9), he too is to be acclaimed as the giver of grace and peace. It is therefore better to render may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace, rather than “grace and peace to you from God our Father, even the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ,” as is sometimes suggested.

This type of blessing or benediction must be identified in some languages as a kind of prayer, and so must be introduced by a verb specifically indicating prayer, for example, “I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will give you grace and peace.” In this context our is, of course, inclusive—that is, including the Philippian believers as well as Paul and Timothy. In some languages it is necessary to say “our Lord” rather than the Lord, since it may be impossible to speak of a “Lord” without indicating those to whom he is related as Lord.

In almost all languages Jesus Christ is treated simply as a proper name, but the title Lord is often rendered as a description of function, for example, “the one who commands us” or “the one whom we obey.”

The term grace is a highly technical expression, with special connotations in this type of greeting. Some languages have no close equivalent, but one can often employ such a phrase as “show great kindness to” or “be very good to.” It may even be difficult to find an appropriate term for peace, since the New Testament concept of peace is not the mere absence of conflict or anxiety. The closest equivalent in some instances may be “cause you to live well.” This type of expression, however, may be understood in the sense of mere material prosperity, which, of course, in not what is meant. In some languages such an expression as “to feel real contentment” may be the closest equivalent.

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 .

The apostle continues with an ironical statement, literally “with reference to zeal, persecuting the church.” This is the second in a series of three “with reference to” statements. In order to provide freshness in style and to bring out the ironical force the better, the statement is best phrased I was so zealous that I persecuted the church (cf. New American Bible Barclay). To a Jew “zeal” for God was the greatest quality in religious life. Paul’s zeal reached to the extent that he tried to wipe out those whom he considered the opponents of Judaism (Acts 8.3; 22.4; 26.9-11). The term church here embraces not primarily various local Christian congregations, but the universal body of Christ.

In some languages it may be necessary to specify the goal of Paul’s zeal, or that which prompted the zeal. Therefore one may translate I was so zealous as “I was so anxious to serve God,” or “I was very desirous to do what I thought God wanted me to do.”

I persecuted the church may be rendered as “I caused the people in the church to suffer.” or “I made it very difficult for the people who belonged to the church.” In this type of context church may be rendered as “those who believed in Jesus,” or “those who gathered together to worship Jesus.”

Paul goes on to list one final personal achievement, that is, legal uprightness. He says, literally, “with reference to righteousness which is in the Law, having become faultless.” Here “which is the Law” is best taken in the sense of “which consists of strict observance of the commandments prescribed by the Law.” Thus Good News Translation rephrases the clause explicitly as as far as a person can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law. It may be very difficult in some languages to express the degree indicated by the phrase as far as. The closest natural equivalent may be a conditional expression, for example, “if you are thinking about how a man can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law.” The commands of the Law may be expressed in some languages as “what the Law commands,” or “what a man is commanded to do in the Law.”

The Greek noun rendered “righteousness” by most translators is a key term in Pauline thought. It is a difficult word with various shades of meaning. Depending on contexts, it can mean “religious duties,” “the requirements of God,” “that which is right,” “righteousness,” “uprightness,” “justice,” “right relationship with God,” etc. In the present instance, the Jerusalem Bible rendering “perfection” appears to lean too strongly on the moral aspect (so also “goodness” in Barclay). “Legal rectitude” (New English Bible) is a good rendering, but it is too difficult for the average reader. Most translations retain the conventional rendering here. One can be more specific in rendering “so far as a man can stand in a right relationship with God by obeying the commands of the Law….”

The adjective rendered without fault is the same word translated innocent in 2.15. The word is often used to characterize someone who is faultless in the sight of other people. Paul is claiming that, as a devout Pharisee, there was no demand of the Law which he did not fulfill. He met all the standards of righteousness prescribed by the Law. I was without fault may be rendered as “there was nothing which I had not done,” or “I had done everything,” referring to his obeying all the commands of the Law. I was without fault may also be expressed as “no one could say I had failed in anything,” or “it could not be said that I was in any way guilty.”

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 .