Philippians 1

New King James Version

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the ^[a]bishops and ^(A)deacons:

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

Thankfulness and Prayer

^3 (B)I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in ^(C)every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ^5 (D)for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun ^(E)a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; ⁷ just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. ⁸ For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

⁹ And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, ¹¹ being filled with the fruits of righteousness ^(F)which are by Jesus Christ, ^(G)to the glory and praise of God.

Christ Is Preached

¹² But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become evident ^(H)to the whole ^[b]palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; ¹⁴ and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: ^16 [c]The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; ¹⁷ but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

To Live Is Christ

¹⁹ For I know that ^(I)this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰ according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but ^(J)with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life ^(K)or by death. ²¹ For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I ^[d]cannot tell. ^23 [e]For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a ^(L)desire to depart and be with Christ, which is ^(M)far better. ²⁴ Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. ²⁵ And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, ²⁶ that ^(N)your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

Striving and Suffering for Christ

²⁷ Only ^(O)let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, ^(P)with one mind ^(Q)striving together for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸ and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but ^[f]to you of salvation, and that from God. ²⁹ For to you ^(R)it has been granted on behalf of Christ, ^(S)not only to believe in Him, but also to ^(T)suffer for His sake, ^30 (U)having the same conflict ^(V)which you saw in me and now hear is in me.