Philippians 1

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, with the Bishops and Deacons of the church:

Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Christ Jesus: To all God's people in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the ministers of the Church and their assistants.

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

May grace and peace be granted to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 I give praise to my God at every memory of you,

I thank my God at my every remembrance of you--

4 And in all my prayers for you all, making my request with joy,

always when offering any prayer on behalf of you all, finding a joy in offering it.

5 Because of your help in giving the good news from the first day till now;

I thank my God, I say, for your cooperation in spreading the Good News, from the time it first came to you even until now.

6 For I am certain of this very thing, that he by whom the good work was started in you will make it complete till the day of Jesus Christ:

For of this I am confident, that He who has begun a good work within you will go on to perfect it in preparation for the day of Jesus Christ.

7 So it is right for me to take thought for you all in this way, because I have you in my heart; for in my chains, and in my arguments before the judges in support of the good news, making clear that it is true, you all have your part with me in grace.

And I am justified in having this confidence about you all, because, both during my imprisonment and when I stand up in defence of the Good News or to confirm its truth, I have you in my heart, sharers as you all are in the same grace as myself.

8 For God is my witness, how my love goes out to you all in the loving mercies of Christ Jesus.

For God is my witness how I yearn over all of you with tender Christian affection.

9 And my prayer is that you may be increased more and more in knowledge and experience;

And it is my prayer that your love may be more and more accompanied by clear knowledge and keen perception, for testing things that differ,

10 So that you may give your approval to the best things; that you may be true and without wrongdoing till the day of Christ;

so that you may be men of transparent character, and may be blameless, in preparation for the day of Christ,

11 Being full of the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

being filled with these fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ-- to the glory and praise of God.

12 Now it is my purpose to make clear to you, brothers, that the cause of the good news has been helped by my experiences;

Now I would have you know, brethren, that what I have gone through has turned out to the furtherance of the Good News rather than otherwise.

13 So that it became clear through all the Praetorium, and to all the rest, that I was a prisoner on account of Christ;

And thus it has become notorious among all the Imperial Guards, and everywhere, that it is for the sake of Christ that I am a prisoner;

14 And most of the brothers in the Lord, taking heart because of my chains, are all the stronger to give the word of God without fear.

and the greater part of the brethren, made confident in the Lord through my imprisonment, now speak of God's Message without fear, more boldly than ever.

15 Though some are preaching Christ out of envy and competition, others do it out of a good heart:

Some indeed actually preach Christ out of envy and contentiousness but there are also others who do it from good will.

16 These do it from love, conscious that I am responsible for the cause of the good news:

These latter preach Him from love to me, knowing that I am here for the defence of the Good News;

17 But those are preaching Christ in a spirit of competition, not from their hearts, but with the purpose of giving me pain in my prison.

while the others proclaim Him from motives of rivalry, and insincerely, supposing that by this they are embittering my imprisonment.

18 What then? only that in every way, falsely or truly, the preaching of Christ goes on; and in this I am glad, and will be glad.

What does it matter, however? In any case Christ is preached--either perversely or in honest truth; and in that I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

19 For I am conscious that this will be for my salvation, through your prayer and the giving out of the stored wealth of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

For I know that it will result in my salvation through your prayers and a bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

20 In the measure of my strong hope and belief that in nothing will I be put to shame, but that without fear, as at all times, so now will Christ have glory in my body, by life or by death.

in fulfilment of my eager expectation and hope that I shall never have reason to feel ashamed, but that by my perfect freedom of speech Christ will be glorified in me, now as always, either by my life or by my death.

21 For to me life is Christ and death is profit.

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

22 But if I go on living in the flesh — if this is the fruit of my work — then I do not see what decision to make.

But since to live means a longer stay on earth, that implies more labour for me--and not unsuccessful labour; and which I am to choose I cannot tell.

23 I am in a hard position between the two, having a desire to go away and be with Christ, which is very much better:

I am in a dilemma, my earnest desire being to depart and be with Christ, for that is far, far better.

24 Still, to go on in the flesh is more necessary because of you.

But for your sakes it is more important that I should still remain in the body.

25 And being certain of this, I am conscious that I will go on, yes, and go on with you all, for your growth and joy in the faith;

I am convinced of this, and I know that I shall remain, and shall go on working side by side with you all, to promote your progress and joy in the faith;

26 So that your pride in me may be increased in Christ Jesus through my being present with you again.

so that, as Christians, you may have additional reason for glorying about me as the result of my being with you again.

27 Only let your behaviour do credit to the good news of Christ, so that if I come and see you or if I am away from you, I may have news of you that you are strong in one spirit, working together with one soul for the faith of the good news;

Only let the lives you live be worthy of the Good News of the Christ, in order that, whether I come and see you or, being absent, only hear of you, I may know that you are standing fast in one spirit and with one mind, fighting shoulder to shoulder for the faith of the Good News.

28 Having no fear of those who are against you; which is a clear sign of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God;

Never for a moment quail before your antagonists. Your fearlessness will be to them a sure token of impending destruction, but to you it will be a sure token of your salvation--a token coming from God.

29 Because to you it has been given in the cause of Christ not only to have faith in him, but to undergo pain on his account:

For you have had the privilege granted you on behalf of Christ--not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf;

30 Fighting the same fight which you saw in me, and now have word of in me.

maintaining, as you do, the same kind of conflict that you once saw in me and which you still hear that I am engaged in.