Philippians 2

¹So if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from love, if any sharing in the Spirit, if any deep affection and compassion, ²make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in soul, thinking one thing. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility consider one another above yourselves, ⁴each of you looking not only to your own interests, but each of you also to the interests of others. ⁵Think this way among yourselves, as Christ Jesus also did, ⁶who, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to exploit, ⁷but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of human beings. And being found in appearance as a human being, ⁸he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹Therefore God also highly exalted him and graciously gave him the name above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, not only in my presence but now much more in my absence, ¹³for God is the one at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. ¹⁴Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵so that you may become blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, ¹⁶holding fast to the word of life, so that I may have a ground for boasting on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and rejoice with all of you. ¹⁸In the same way, you too should rejoice and rejoice with me.

¹⁹I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged when I learn how you are doing. ²⁰For I have no one of like mind who will sincerely care about your concerns; ²¹for they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. ²²But you know his proven character, that like a child with a father he slaved alongside me for the good news. ²³So I hope to send him as soon as I see how things will go with me, ²⁴and I am confident in the Lord that I myself will also come soon.

²⁵But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, ²⁶since he was longing for all of you and was distressed because you heard that he was ill. ²⁷Indeed, he was ill, close to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have grief upon grief. ²⁸So I am sending him all the more eagerly, so that when you see him you may rejoice again and I may have less grief. ²⁹Welcome him, then, in the Lord with all joy, and hold such people in honor, ³⁰because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up what was lacking in your service to me.

Translation notes 9

2:1–5 — Shared thinking. The repeated “if” appeals to shared realities rather than necessarily expressing doubt. “Thinking” includes disposition and practical outlook, not merely ideas. “United in soul” continues 1:27's unity language. At 2:4, “only” is supplied to express the contrast with “also.” At 2:5, the second clause has no expressed verb; “as Christ Jesus also did” is supplied for the example that follows. Another reading is “which is also yours in Christ Jesus.”

2:6 — Form and equality. “Form” is repeated in “form of God” and “form of a slave”; it should not be read as mere disguise. “Something to exploit” understands the rare Greek noun as an advantage to use for oneself. “Something to grasp” or “hold on to” are substantial alternatives. These are interpretations of the same Greek text, not manuscript variants.

2:7–8 — Emptying and humiliation. The text says “emptied himself,” without naming anything he emptied himself of. The following phrases describe taking a slave's form and becoming human; no list of divine attributes surrendered is supplied. “Likeness” and “appearance” describe his humanity without saying it was unreal. The final phrase of verse 7 continues into verse 8.

2:9–11 — The name and confession. “Lord” in the confession is the likely explanation of the name above every name; the text does not explicitly insert that title into verse 9. The knee-bending and confession echo Isaiah 45:23. Those “under the earth” belong to the passage's comprehensive picture; the phrase is not replaced with “hell.”

2:12–13 — Work out your salvation. The commands and pronouns address the community in the plural. The call to action stands together with God's action in willing and working; neither statement is removed to resolve a theological tension. “Fear and trembling” conveys the seriousness of the response. “His” in “his good pleasure” makes the understood reference to God explicit.

2:15–16 — Lights and the word of life. “Lights” can refer to heavenly lights or stars. “Holding fast to” can also be understood as “holding out,” offering the life-giving message to others. Perseverance and Paul's hope that his labor has not been wasted favor the reading printed here, though the alternative fits their witness in the world.

2:17–18 — Drink offering. Paul pictures himself as a poured-out offering alongside their faith's sacrifice and service. The image can include his possible death as well as his costly present service; the sentence does not explicitly name martyrdom. “Rejoice with” preserves the repeated joy language.

2:20–22 — Timothy's service. “They all” is forceful but does not identify every person Paul has in view. The verb rendered “slaved” connects with the opening “slaves” and Christ's “form of a slave.” Timothy worked alongside Paul, not as Paul's property. “Child” follows the Greek word here; it is not the word for “son.”

2:25–30 — Messenger and need. “Messenger” translates the word also used for “apostle,” here describing someone sent by the Philippians. “Minister” and “service” belong to the same service word family used in the offering image at 2:17. “What was lacking” refers to service Epaphroditus supplied on their behalf; it need not accuse them of indifference. “I am sending” at 2:28 treats the past tense as written from the recipients' perspective.