And God’s peace is literally “and the peace of God.” The conjunction and indicates that what follows is the consequence of what precedes; thus it can be rendered “and so” or “then” (Goodspeed New English Bible New American Bible). The phrase “the peace of God” appears only here in the New Testament; elsewhere we often find the expression “the God of peace” (4.9; Rom 15.33; 16.20; 1 Thes 5.23; Heb 13.20). The difference in meaning in these two expressions is a matter of focus. Here the focus is on the “peace” which originates in and comes from God, while in verse 9 it is “God” who causes or gives peace. Peace in the Bible is never merely the absence of strife and trouble. Rather, this term stands for a total well-being associated with the state of salvation (Isa 52.7). It follows from the right relationship with God made possible through Jesus Christ (Rom 5.1) and the resultant friendly relationship with one’s fellow man (Eph 2.14). As such it is a gift from God. In this type of context peace may be rendered in some languages as “sitting down in one’s heart,” or “not running around in one’s mind.” The relation of God to “peace” may be expressed as “this has been caused by God,” or “God causes us to sit down in our hearts.”

The Greek of the next clause (literally, “which rises above all mind”) can be interpreted in two different ways. It can mean that God’s peace can produce far better results than human cleverness and devices can accomplish (New English Bible alternative rendering “of far more worth than human reasoning”). Or the clause can mean that God’s peace is completely beyond all power of human comprehension. Accordingly, Good News Translation renders which is far beyond human understanding (cf. Jerusalem Bible “which is so much greater than we can understand”). There is an implicit contrast between God’s peace and human understanding, and Good News Translation makes this information explicit (so also Phillips). In this particular instance, the context offers little help as to which interpretation is correct, since neither seems to fit well; but on linguistic grounds the second meaning appears to be preferable. Basically, the verb rendered is far beyond means “to rise above,” “to surpass,” or “to excel.” The focus is on the idea of uniqueness rather than relative superiority. Paul is not interested in making a comparison between God’s peace and human ingenuities; rather he is explaining the nature of God’s peace. Furthermore, the basic meaning of the noun translated understanding is “the mind” as the faculty of thinking and reflection, not “cleverness” or “inventiveness.” Which is far beyond human understanding may be rendered as “because we are only people, we are not able to understand how God can do this,” or “people are not able to understand this kind of peace.”

The verb rendered will keep … safe is a military term. It pictures a garrison or a military sentinel “keeping guard over” a city or a fort to maintain peace and to protect against attacks. The city of Philippi in Paul’s time was guarded by a Roman garrison, so the metaphor would probably appeal to his readers. What Paul says to his friends is this: as the result of your prayers God’s peace will stand like a guard to keep your hearts and minds safe from attacks of worries and anxieties.

In biblical understanding the “heart” is not merely the center of feeling (1.7; Rom 9.2; 2 Cor 2.4), but also of willing (Mark 3.5; 1 Cor 7.37; 2 Cor 9.7), and of thinking (Matt 12.34; Rom 1.21; Eph 1.18). In Greek, the form of the word rendered minds indicates that its primary meaning is “thoughts” (New English Bible Jerusalem Bible), yet the thinking faculty, the mind, seems to be meant here. What God’s peace is keeping guard over is the mind rather than the thoughts, which are the product of the mind (2 Cor 3.14; 4.4; 11.3). Most likely Paul brings hearts and minds together to emphasize the whole inner being of the Christian, consisting of his faculties of feeling, willing, and thinking.

It is relatively simple to speak of “God keeping your hearts and minds safe,” but it may be more difficult to introduce peace as the means by which the hearts and minds are kept safe. This relation may be expressed most satisfactorily in some instances as a type of condition. Accordingly, God’s peace … will keep your hearts and minds safe may be rendered as “if you experience the kind of peace that God can cause for you, then your hearts and minds will be kept safe,” “… then there will be no danger to your hearts and minds,” or “… then in all you feel and think there will be no reason for being anxious.”

Paul introduces the important phrase in union with Christ Jesus (literally, “in Christ Jesus”) to close the sentence. It is a solemn reminder to his readers that outside of their closest possible union with Christ there is no protection, no safekeeping by God’s peace. In many languages the phrase may have to be rendered as “through your union with the life of Christ Jesus.” In some instances one may relate the phrase to what precedes it by saying “because of the fact that you are united with Christ Jesus” (cf. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), or “this is true because you are united with Christ Jesus.”

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 .