3:5a

In 3:5–6 Paul listed the reasons why he could have trusted in human tradition and his own efforts, if such a thing had been important. His comments fit into two groups. First he listed four things that showed that he was a true Jew (3:5a–c), things that were true about him from the time he was born, not relating to anything he did. Then he listed three things that were the result of what he himself did (3:5d–3:6b). These seven things could have given him reason to be proud of what he was as a Jew. But he chose not to depend on these things.

In your translation you might put a comment at the beginning of 3:5 to show that Paul was giving a list in 3:5–6 of the reasons why he could trust in earthly things. See the second Meaning Line in the Display for 3:5a.

circumcised on the eighth day: One reason Paul could claim to be a true Jew was that he had been circumcised. God’s law, given through Moses, required this of all Jewish males; it said that they were to be circumcised on the eighth day. This was a sign that they were born as members of God’s chosen people. So Paul was saying that he had been circumcised, just as the law commanded.

circumcised: See notes on 3:3a for the meaning of circumcised. If your language does not use passive verbs, you will need to say who circumcised Paul. Normally it was Jewish religious leaders who performed this ceremony.

on the eighth day: By the Jewish method of counting, the day a baby was born was his first day. So on the eighth day means when he was seven days or one week old. Make sure you use the method of counting used by your culture.

Notice that the first meaning line in the Display says “just as God commanded our (excl.) ancestors.” The exclusive form of “our” here means that since the Philippians were Gentiles, they did not have the same ancestors as the Jews. See also the meaning lines for 3:5d, 3:6a and 3:6b.

3:5b

of the people of Israel: Paul was a descendant of Jacob. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and his descendants were known as the people of Israel. So Paul could say he was related to all the Israelites.

of the tribe of Benjamin: Only a few Jews were able to list the names of their ancestors going back to the beginning of one of the tribes of Israel. But Paul knew that he was a descendant of Benjamin. This means that he belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, who was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Two ideas for translation are:

I belong to the tribe of Benjamin.
-or-
I ⌊even⌋ come from the family of Benjamin.

tribe: The sons of Jacob were the leaders of their own families, which in time became clans because each son had many descendants. They also called each clan a tribe, even though all the clans or tribes spoke the same language, Hebrew.

3:5c

a Hebrew of Hebrews: Paul was saying that he was a true Jew and so were his parents. You could restate this as:

I am a true Hebrew, born of true Hebrews.

Hebrew: Some commentators say that the word Hebrew refers to those who were racially pure as Jews, with no Gentile blood in them. Others say it refers to Jews who followed the traditional customs, who still spoke the Hebrew language, and who considered themselves to be religious Jews. Still others say the word Hebrew has both of the above meanings. Paul was born outside Palestine, in Tarsus, but he insisted that he was a true Hebrew.

3:5d

After listing the things that were true of him since he was born, Paul here listed the three things he had done of which he could have been proud.

as to the law, a Pharisee: If anyone questioned whether Paul followed the Jewish laws, his answer was that he was (or had been) a Pharisee. In some languages it will be necessary to use the verb “to be” here. If so, it is necessary to decide which tense to use. Most likely Paul was thinking, as with 3:6a–b, of what he had been, before he became a Christian and so it is better to use a past tense: “in regard to the law I was a Pharisee.” Most English versions which supply a verb here follow this (Good News Translation, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, New Jerusalem Bible) and it also has good commentary support.

as to: This phrase in 3:5d and the next two phrases in 3:6 start with the same word in Greek: kata. This preposition can be translated in several ways, including, as in the New International Version, in regard to. In some languages it is possible to translate it the same way each time, but in other languages it may be necessary to vary the expression.

the law: This refers to the Jewish religious laws in general and to the laws of Moses in particular, on which the religious laws were based.

Pharisee: The Pharisees were a group within Judaism who were particularly strict about obeying the Jewish laws. They were very concerned about each point in the law. Before he became a Christian, Paul had faithfully followed the teachings and practices of this group.

You could translate the word Pharisee as “the Pharisee group.” This is an important word that should be in your glossary if you have one. See “Pharisee” in Key Biblical Terms. Many readers know the name Pharisee because they have read the gospels. In some languages it may be necessary to explain in this context who the Pharisees were. If this is so in your language, you could use a footnote, or include some implicit information in your translation. For example:

I was a Pharisee, ⌊which meant that I carefully obeyed the law.⌋
-or-
I was a member of the Pharisee group, ⌊who thoroughly follow the law.⌋

© 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.

Section 1:3–11

Paul thanked God for the Philippians and prayed for them

In 1:3–11 Paul thanked God for the Philippian believers. He told them that he prayed for them and loved them very much.

Paragraph 1:3–8

Paul told the Philippians that he often thanked God for them and prayed for them. They were a great help to him in preaching the gospel, and Paul loved them deeply.

1:3

I thank my God: In some languages it is not possible to say “I thank God.” What a person says to God must be in direct speech. For example:

I say ‘thank you’ to God.

I: If you used “we” as the subject of any verbs in 1:1 and 1:2, make sure that it is clear that the subject of this verse is Paul alone.

my God: This refers to the God Paul worshiped, the God to whom he belonged. In many languages it is not possible to say my God, as if a person could own God. Possible ways of translating this are “the God I worship” and “God, my Lord.”

every time I remember you: The word remember here does not mean for someone to remember someone he had forgotten. It means to think about someone again.

© 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.

3:16

Nevertheless: The word Nevertheless implies that Paul was emphasizing an important point. In English it could be expressed as “In any case…” or “However…” or “The important thing is…”

we must live up to what we have already attained: Paul was saying, “Let each of us act consistently with the level we have reached as Christians.” This means that believers should obey what they already know God wants them to do and to be. One way to translate this would be to follow the SSA:

we(incl.) must act/live according to what God has already revealed to us(incl.) (SSA)

Another possibility is:

let us(incl.) obey what we(incl.) know ⌊God has already revealed to us (incl.)

1:14a

In the Greek this verse begins with a conjunction that could be translated as “and”. This verse tells another good thing that happened because Paul was in prison. If you need to make this connection clear, you could begin with a phrase like: “And that is not all.”

the brothers: See note on 1:12a.

1:14b

confident: This comes from the Greek word peithō. The form of the verb used here means “to be confident” or “to trust.” The Berean Standard Bible translates this same Greek word as “confident” in 1:6 and “trust” in 2:24, and as “convinced” in 1:25. It is recommended that you translate it with a term meaning “have been made confident” or “have been given confidence.”

in the Lord: It is not clear in the Greek text which part of the verse this phrase connects to. There are two possibilities:

(1) It should be connected to what follows it in the Greek text, that is, the verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “confident.” In this case the phrase “confident in the Lord” would mean “the Lord has caused them to be confident.” The brothers were more bold to tell about Christ because of this confidence that the Lord had given them. The majority of commentators support this interpretation. (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, God’s Word, New Century Version)

(2) It should be connected to what precedes it in the Greek text, that is, “the brothers.” This would then mean “believing brothers” or “Christians.” (New International Version, King James Version, Revised English Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

by my chains: Paul said that his chains had given the other Christians courage, but he did not say how this was done. He may have meant that they gained courage by seeing the way God had helped him while he was in prison.

1:14c

more greatly: In the Greek this is a verb form, literally “much more to dare.” The believers became much bolder/braver than they had been before. They knew some people were against the Christian message. That is why Paul was in prison. But when they saw Paul continue to speak about his Savior even though he was in prison, this increased their courage. If you have a verb meaning “to be brave,” you may use it here. In some languages it will be necessary to use an adjective meaning “bold, courageous” or an adverb meaning “boldly, courageously.”

the word: Some Greek texts have the full phrase “the word of God” and other Greek texts have simply the word. However, these two phrases clearly refer to the same thing, that is, “the message from God.” Therefore, it is recommended that you include the words “of God.”

without fear: This describes the way in which the believers preached. You may need to translate this as a separate sentence at the end of the verse. For example:

They are not afraid.

In some languages it may be necessary to provide an object specifying of whom the brothers were not afraid. If this is the case in your language, you may supply an object such as “unbelievers.”

General Comment on 1:14

In some languages it may be best to give the reason (1:14b) at the end of the verse. For example:

The Lord has caused the brothers to be more confident and to preach the word of God more boldly and without fear. This has happened because I have been in prison.

© 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.