Philippians 2
The full text of Philippians 2 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any tenderness and compassion,
2 then make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love, united in spirit and set on one purpose.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but each of you also to the interests of others.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 who, existing in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God as something to be seized,
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
becoming as human beings are.
And being found in appearance as a man,
8 he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to the point of death —
even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — keep working out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing,
15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world,
16 holding fast to the word of life. Then I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.
18 In the same way you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you.
20 I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care for your interests.
21 For they all look out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
22 But you know Timothy's proven worth — how, like a son with his father, he served with me in the work of the gospel.
23 So I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me,
24 and I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.
25 But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus — my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need —
26 for he has been longing for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.
27 Indeed he was ill, and nearly died. But God had mercy on him — and not only on him but also on me, to spare me one sorrow piled on another.
28 So I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less anxious.
29 So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him,
30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.
Translation notes (19)
- Philippians 2:1a Greek koinōnia pneumatos (κοινωνία πνεύματος), 'sharing in the Spirit', is grammatically ambiguous: the genitive may mean participation in the Spirit himself or a fellowship that the Spirit creates among believers. The rendering 'sharing in the Spirit' preserves the first sense while leaving room for the second. The fourfold ei tis, 'if any', cadence of the Greek appeal is retained.
- Philippians 2:5a Greek phroneite (φρονεῖτε), 'think', conveys a shared mindset linking 2:2–5; the clause ho kai en Christo Iesou is elliptical, implying 'which also [was] in Christ Jesus.' Many regard 2:6–11 as a preexisting hymn introduced here.
- Philippians 2:6a This can also be translated 'in the form of God.' The Greek word morphe denotes essential form or appearance, and its precise meaning here is debated.
- Philippians 2:6b The Greek word harpagmon can mean either 'something to be grasped at' (which he did not yet possess and seized) or 'something to be held onto or exploited for advantage' (which he already had and refused to use). The translation deliberately preserves this ambiguity.
- Philippians 2:7a The Greek phrase heauton ekenosen means 'emptied himself.' What he emptied himself of is not stated; renderings such as 'made himself nothing' interpret the metaphor and are avoided here.
- Philippians 2:7b The Greek phrase morphen doulou, 'the form of a slave,' deliberately echoes morphe theou, 'the form of God,' in verse 6.
- Philippians 2:8a Greek thanatou de staurou, 'even death of a cross', is appended as a climactic afterthought, and the em dash preserves its force. Crucifixion was reserved in the Roman world chiefly for slaves and rebels and was considered too degrading to name in polite company, so the phrase marks the lowest point of the descent that began with etapeinosen heauton, 'he humbled himself'.
- Philippians 2:9a Greek hyperypsosen means 'exalted exceedingly', and echarisato means 'graciously gave'. The phrase to onoma to hyper pan onoma, 'the name above every name', alludes to Isaiah 45:23 and is commonly taken to refer to kyrios, 'Lord' (κύριος), confessed in verse 11.
- Philippians 2:10a The clause echoes Isaiah 45:23, where every knee bows to the God of Israel, here applied to Jesus; verse 11 completes the citation with every tongue confessing. The triad epouranion, epigeion, katachthonion, 'those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth', extends the homage to all created beings in every realm.
- Philippians 2:11a Echoes Isaiah 45:23 (the Septuagint), where kyrios (κύριος), 'Lord' renders the divine name; applying kyrios to Jesus ascribes to him the divine title. The verb exomologeō (ἐξομολογέω), 'acknowledge openly,' underscores public confession. Many take 2:6–11 as an early hymn, with this line as its climax.
- Philippians 2:12a Katergazesthe (κατεργάζεσθε), 'keep working out', is a present imperative in the plural, addressed to the congregation as a whole and describing ongoing action rather than a single achievement. The verb means to bring something to its full effect, not to earn it, a point the following verse secures by grounding the command in God's own working.
- Philippians 2:14a The Greek terms gongysmou, 'grumbling', and dialogismon, 'disputing', echo the language of the Septuagint for Israel's rebellions against God and Moses during the wilderness wanderings, especially in Exodus and Numbers.
- Philippians 2:15a The phrase 'a warped and crooked generation' echoes the Septuagint of Deuteronomy 32:5, where Israel is indicted with the same language; Paul reverses the picture, placing believers as faithful children within such a generation. Greek phosteres, 'luminaries', denotes light-bearing heavenly bodies. The verb phainesthe may be indicative or imperative; the indicative 'you shine' is adopted here.
- Philippians 2:16a Greek epechontes, 'holding fast' (ἐπέχοντες), can also mean 'holding out' or 'offering'; the immediate context (2:15) favors steadfast adherence. The phrase eis kenon edramon, literally 'I ran into emptiness' (εἰς κενόν ἔδραμον), stands behind 'run in vain' and 'labor in vain', preserving athletic imagery.
- Philippians 2:17a The Greek verb spendomai, 'I am poured out as a libation', pictures Paul's possible death as the drink offering poured over a sacrifice, as in Numbers 15:5. The paired terms thysia, 'sacrifice', and leitourgia, 'priestly service', extend the cultic imagery, presenting the Philippians' faith as the offering that Paul's own life-blood would accompany.
- Philippians 2:20a Like-minded translates isopsychos, 'like-minded' (ἰσόψυχος), literally 'equal-souled'; it occurs only here in the New Testament and conveys Timothy's deep kinship of spirit with Paul.
- Philippians 2:22a The Greek word dokimē, 'proven worth,' refers to a character demonstrated and approved through testing. Paul emphasizes Timothy's faithful service, employing the verb edouleusen, 'he served as a slave,' echoing his own self-identification as a doulos, 'slave,' of Christ Jesus in Philippians 1:1.
- Philippians 2:25a Greek apostolos, 'envoy', can be non-technical for a commissioned representative of a church; hence rendered here as 'messenger'. The triad adelphon, synergon, systratioten — 'brother', 'fellow worker', 'fellow soldier' — escalates in solidarity. Greek leitourgos, 'minister', evokes public service on behalf of others, here applied to Epaphroditus's aid to Paul.
- Philippians 2:30a The rare verb paraboleusamenos, 'having gambled', occurs only here in the New Testament; it belongs to the vocabulary of one who stakes everything on a single throw. Later manuscripts read parabouleusamenos, 'not consulting his own life', the reading behind the King James rendering 'not regarding his life'. From the same root, Christians who risked infection nursing the sick were later called parabolani.
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