SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 2002 – Page 12

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 3:14

3:14a

I press on: This is the same Greek word as Paul used in 3:12c. See note there. In terms of the race metaphor here, the phrase press on means to keep on running. Paul was comparing himself to a determined runner, going toward his goal and not looking back. What he meant was that he continued trying, to work hard to become more like Christ.

goal: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as goal means the “aim, end, object” of something. In the race metaphor, it refers to the finish line which each runner is trying to be the first to cross. But here Paul was probably referring to the thing he had been talking about in 3:10–13. His aim or goal was to become completely like Christ. This would include knowing him completely.

prize: A prize is a reward for winning a race or doing something well. The next note discusses what this prize was.

3:14b

of God’s heavenly calling: It is not clear how this clause connects back to “the prize” mentioned in 3:14a. There are two main possibilities:

(1) It identifies the prize. The prize was that God called Paul heavenwards to make him completely like Christ. For example:

the prize, which is God’s call…to the life above (Good News Translation)

(2) The prize that God called Paul heavenwards to receive. Paul did not identify the prize itself. (New International Version, New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version, God’s Word, Revised English Bible)

The first interpretation fits the context better here. So it is recommended that you follow it (1).

heavenly: The Greek word here literally means “upwards.”

in Christ Jesus: God can call or invite people to be with him in heaven because of what Christ has done for them. So you could translate 3:14b as:

God calls me to heaven ⌊to be with him⌋ because of ⌊what⌋ Christ Jesus ⌊has done for me⌋.

General Comment on 3:14

In some languages it may be helpful to reorder this verse. One way to do this would be:

I continue trying hard until God calls me to heaven because of Christ Jesus. In doing this I am ⌊like a runner⌋ racing toward the finish line to receive a prize.

© 2002 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:12

Section 1:12–18d

Paul rejoiced that people continued to preach the gospel even though he was in prison

Paul explained in 1:12–18d the way the fact that he was in prison had affected other people. Paul believed that God was working in everything that happened to him. He saw something good happening when people preached about Christ, even when they preached for the wrong reasons. Some of the Christians apparently taught about Christ because they were jealous of Paul’s reputation as a teacher. But Paul was still happy because people were telling the good news about Christ.

Paragraph 1:12–14

Paul wrote that even though he was in prison, the gospel message was spreading.

1:12a

Now I want you to know: Paul pointed out that things had happened opposite to what the Philippians might have expected.

Now: Paul is starting a new subject or topic. In Greek this is marked by a particle, de, that the Berean Standard Bible has translated Now. If in your language there is a way to mark a transition or change of topic, you should use it here. Several English translations have left it implicit (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation), and this may be acceptable in your language. However, avoid translating the word literally. Its sense here is not as a time word.

brothers: The term brothers occurs here and also in 3:1, 3:13, 3:17, 4:1, 4:8. It refers to other Christians, fellow believers, not to literal brothers. You might translate this as “brothers and sisters,” “older and younger siblings” or “relatives.” But in some languages people use kinship terms only in the literal sense. If this is true in your language, a phrase such as “fellow Christians” or “fellow believers” would be better here. Whatever term you choose should be used consistently throughout the Bible whenever brothers is used to address other Christians.

In some languages it is necessary to put a term of address such as brothers at the beginning of the sentence. You should place this term wherever it is most natural in your language.

1:12b

my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel: The bad things that had happened to Paul did not prevent people from hearing the good news about Jesus Christ. Rather, they caused more people to hear the good news.

my circumstances: Paul did not specify what events he was thinking of here. Perhaps he was referring to his imprisonment generally or to something more specific. However, there is no way to be certain, so you should not try to make this event explicit here.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 2:14

Paragraph 2:14–16

Theme: Believers should be different from those who are evil and should show people the message of life.

2:14

complaining or arguing: This means for a person to say bad things about his own situation and to argue with other people. Perhaps some of the Philippians were acting like this toward God or toward one another. Paul was probably thinking about the attitude of the Israelites while Moses led them through the desert (Exodus 16:2).

In some languages 2:14 has been translated as:

Live without complaining or arguing.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 4:4

Paragraph 4:4–7

This paragraph contrasts with 4:2–3 where Paul talked about arguing. In 4:4–7 he encouraged the Philippian believers to be happy and gentle, to pray and not to worry. He wanted them to experience the peace of God in their hearts and in their Christian community.

4:4

Rejoice in the Lord: This is the same Greek phrase as Paul used in 3:1a. See the note on that verse.

always: Here Paul made the expression “Rejoice in the Lord” stronger. He added the idea of always. He meant for the believers to continue rejoicing as they obeyed the Lord Jesus. They express their joy all the time as they thought about the Lord and all that he had done for them. Even when others persecuted them because they believed in Jesus, they could still be happy because they belonged to God.

I will say it again: Rejoice!: Paul was repeating what he had just said to give it emphasis and to show that it was very important.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 1:23

1:23a

Paul was not thinking about killing himself in this verse. He was not the one who would decide whether he lived or died. God would decide that. Even the Roman court could only put Paul to death if God permitted it. But Paul had time in prison to think about dying, and here he expressed his deepest feelings about how he loved Christ and wanted to be with him.

I am torn between the two: A literal translation of the Greek is “I am constricted/enclosed by the two.” This means that it was hard for Paul to know which of these two things he preferred. The Berean Standard Bible has used an equivalent English idiom to translate this meaning. Another similar idiom is “I am pulled in two directions.” Some languages have idioms with this same meaning, but if you do not have such an idiom, it may be better to say simply:

It is hard for me to choose
-or-
I don’t know which would be better.

1:23b

I desire to depart: This means “I want to leave this life,” that is, to die. Paul felt that it would be wonderful if he could die and be with Jesus as a result of his trial in the Roman court. There may be some appropriate idiom in your language such as “I want to leave this life.” Or you may need to say simply “I wish to die.” However, make sure that your translation does not imply that Paul was discouraged and tired of living. He was not. He was happy to continue living and serving Christ (as 1:24 makes clear). But he would be even happier to go and be with Christ in heaven.

and be with Christ: Paul wanted to die in order to go and live with Christ in heaven. In some languages it may be necessary to avoid implying that Christ is dead. If when you test your translation, you discover that people think that Paul meant Christ was dead, you could say:

so that I can go and live with Christ in heaven

which is far better indeed: The phrase far better indeed shows how deeply Paul felt about this. If in your language you must make explicit what Paul considers dying to be better than, then you could translate it as “much better ⌊than continuing to live on earth⌋.” If your language does not use comparative expressions like “better” or “better than,” you could perhaps translate this as “which would be extremely good.”

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 3:4

3:4a

though I myself could have such confidence: It may be helpful in your language to make this a separate sentence. Paul is saying something that is qualifying his previous statement. To show this you may need to begin this clause with a phrase like:

However, it is true that…

I myself: The Greek emphasizes the first person singular pronoun, I. One way of doing this in English is I myself. (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Revised Standard Version.) If you use emphatic pronouns in your language, you may be able to use one here.

could have such confidence: The text in 3:5–6 lists these reasons. The phrase could have such confidence is one word in Greek. It literally means “grounds/reason for trust.” In some languages it may be necessary to translate it with one or more verbs. For example, the SSA suggests:

could very well rely on them (SSA)

such: The Berean Standard Bible has included this word to connect this verse back to the “confidence in the flesh” that Paul referred to in 3:3c. Paul was referring to why he would have reasons, from a human point of view, to trust in who he was or what he had done, or to depend on human tradition.

Paragraph 3:4b–6b

Paul was saying, “If it would do any good, I could trust in my Jewish background and my custom of strictly following the Jewish laws, in order that God would consider me, more than anyone else, as one who belongs to him.”

Translator’s Notes places a paragraph break here (see also SSA) as do some English versions. Other English versions keep 3:4b together with 3:4a. This is perhaps because it divides up a single Greek sentence.

3:4b

Paul was not saying that he actually depended on his human background. He made it clear in 3:7–11 that it is useless to trust in such things. He was saying the if human background was important, he had a great human background to depend on. In some translations this may need to be made explicit by including a phrase such as the following at the beginning of this paragraph:

Suppose it were true that the things of this world were important….

If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh: This is an “if” clause, but Paul did not intend to express doubt. He knew that some people, those he was criticizing, did rely on the flesh. In some languages a literal translation may suggest that there is doubt about whether there are any such people. So it may be necessary to say something like “Since some people think they can trust….”

he has grounds for confidence: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as has grounds for confidence is from the same root as the noun translated as “put…confidence” in 3:3c. See note there. It could be translated as “he can rely/depend on” or “he has grounds for trusting.”

I have more: Paul was saying, “I have more reasons to trust in earthly things than he does.” Another way you could state this is:

I am better qualified than anyone else to depend on physical things and human tradition.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 4:15

Paragraph 4:15–20

Paul told the Philippians that he had received the generous gift they had sent to him with Epaphroditus. He told them that God would also supply what they needed.

4:15

During Paul’s travels after his first visit to Philippi, the believers there sent him gifts to help pay the expenses of his ministry. They were the only church that did that at that time. This is what Paul was talking about in 4:15.

4:15a

And as you Philippians know: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And can also be translated “indeed” or “and.” Paul was saying that they already knew what he was going to tell them in 4:15–16.

4:15b

in the early days of the gospel: This is literally “in the beginning of the gospel.” The phrase can be interpreted in several ways:

(1) It focuses on the Philippians and the time when they first heard the good news about Jesus Christ. It may also include the years when they were still new believers. (New International Version, New Living Translation (2004))

(2) It focuses on Paul and the time when he first preached the gospel in Macedonia. For example:

in the early days of preaching the Good News (Good News Translation) (NET Bible, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It is most likely here that Paul was writing from the point of view of the Philippians.

4:15c

when I left Macedonia: There are two ways to translate the form of the Greek verb in this part of the verse:

(1) It refers to the precise time when Paul actually left Macedonia to go to Athens and Corinth (Acts 17:14–15). (New International Version, Revised English Bible)

(2) It refers more generally to some time after Paul had left Macedonia to go to Athens and Corinth. For example:

After I left there…. (Contemporary English Version)

Many English versions are ambiguous. However, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The first gift Paul received from the Philippians was when he was in Thessalonica (4:16). Since Thessalonica was also in Macedonia, this favors interpretation (1).

4:15d

no church but you partnered with me: No other church sent gifts to Paul at that time. The church at Philippi was the only one that did.

partnered with me: The Philippian believers became partners with Paul in his work by sending money and perhaps other things to help him. See the note on 1:5a.

in the matter of giving and receiving: Paul was probably using a business or financial term here that means “in an accounting of expenses and receipts.” He was referring to the gifts of money and perhaps other things that the Philippians had sent to him and his companions. The use of both giving and receiving can be understood in two ways:

(1) The Philippians gave and Paul received. The Philippians gave physical (material) gifts to Paul, and he told them that he had received them. (New Century Version, New Living Translation (2004))

(2) The Philippians both gave and received. They had already received Paul’s gift of the gospel, and, in return, they gave him physical gifts (see 1 Corinthians 9:11). (God’s Word, Contemporary English Version)

Either interpretation is possible here, and many English versions are ambiguous. If you need to make explicit who was giving and who was receiving, it is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1).

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Philippians 2002