Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

1Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus: To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.

1This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God's holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons.

2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

3I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you,

3Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

4always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer,

4Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy,

5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

5for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.

6I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

6And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

7Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

7So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News.

8For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

8God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

9And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment,

9I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.

10so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ,

10For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return.

11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

11May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation--the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ--for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

12Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel,

12And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.

13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ.

13For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ.

14Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly.

14And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God's message without fear.

15To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will.

15It's true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives.

16These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;

16They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News.

17the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment.

17Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me.

18What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice

18But that doesn't matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.

19because I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

19For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.

20My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

20For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.

21For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

21For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.

22Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don't know which one I should choose.

22But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don't know which is better.

23I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ--which is far better--

23I'm torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.

24but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

24But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

25Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,

25Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.

26so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound.

26And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.

27Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the gospel,

27Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.

28not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your salvation--and this is from God.

28Don't be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.

29For it has been granted to you on Christ's behalf not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,

29For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.

30since you are engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.

30We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All Rights Reserved.