Philippians
Chapter 1
1 Paul and Timothy, who serve Jesus Christ, send greetings to all God’s holy people in Philippi, along with the overseers and helpers.
2 May grace and peace be with you from God our Father and from Jesus Christ.
3 I thank God every time I remember you.
4 I always pray for all of you with joy in every one of my prayers.
5 For sharing in the good news from the beginning until now;
6 I am sure that God, who started a good work in you, will keep going until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart. You all share in God’s grace with me, whether I’m in prison or defending and confirming the good news.
8 God knows how much I deeply miss all of you with the love of Jesus Christ.
9 I pray that your love grows more and more, along with your knowledge and insight.
10 You should choose what is best so that you may be true and blameless until the day of Christ.
11 Being filled with good things that come from doing right, which are through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.
12 I want you to know, friends, that what has happened to me has really helped spread the good news.
13 So that everyone in the palace and everywhere else knows that I am in chains for Christ.
14 Many believers in God, seeing my imprisonment, are now much braver to talk about God’s message fearlessly.
15 Some people spread the message about Christ because they are jealous and like to argue; but others do it with good intentions.
16 Some preach about Christ with bad intentions, not honestly, thinking they will make my imprisonment harder.
17 But the other preaches out of love, knowing that I stand to defend the gospel.
18 So what? In every way, whether fake or real, Christ is talked about; and I’m happy about this, yes, and I’ll keep being happy.
19 I know that this will lead to my rescue because of your prayers and Jesus Christ’s Spirit’s help.
20 I really hope and expect that I won’t be ashamed in any way. I want to be very brave now as I always have been, and have Christ honored in my body, whether I live or die.
21 For me, living means following Christ, and dying is a benefit.
22 If I continue living in my body, this means I can keep working. But I do not know what I should choose.
23 I am torn between two choices: wanting to leave and be with Christ, which is much better.
24 Staying alive is more important for your sake.
25 Because I am sure of this, I know that I will stay and be with all of you to help your faith grow and to share joy in believing.
26 I want you to be happier about Jesus Christ because of my visit to you again.
27 Make sure you live in a way that fits with the good news about Christ. This way, whether I visit you or I’m away, I can hear about you. I want to know that you are standing strong together with one purpose, working as a team for the faith the good news brings.
28 Don’t be scared of your enemies at all: to them it’s a clear sign they’ll be ruined, but for you it means being saved, which comes from God.
29 God has granted you the gift not only to believe in Christ but also to endure hardship for him.
30 You are facing the same struggle that you saw I had, and now you hear that I still have.