Philippians 1:1-26

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, servants^[a] of Christ Jesus,

To all the ^(A)saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the ^(B)overseers^[b] and ^(C)deacons:^[c]

^2 (D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

^3 (E)I thank my God ^(F)in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ^5 (G)because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began ^(H)a good work in you ^(I)will bring it to completion at ^(J)the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you ^(K)in my heart, for you are all ^(L)partakers with me of grace,^[d] both ^(M)in my imprisonment and in ^(N)the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸ For ^(O)God is my witness, ^(P)how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And it is my prayer that ^(Q)your love may abound more and more, ^(R)with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, ^(S)and so be pure and blameless ^(T)for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled ^(U)with the fruit of righteousness that comes ^(V)through Jesus Christ, ^(W)to the glory and praise of God.

The Advance of the Gospel

¹² I want you to know, brothers,^[e] that what has happened to me has really ^(X)served to advance the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard^[f] and ^(Y)to all the rest that ^(Z)my imprisonment is for Christ. ¹⁴ And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold ^(AA)to speak the word^[g] without fear.

^15 (AB)Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, ^(AC)knowing that I am put here for ^(AD)the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former proclaim Christ ^(AE)out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

To Live Is Christ

Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that ^(AF)through your prayers and ^(AG)the help of ^(AH)the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰ as it is my eager expectation and hope ^(AI)that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full ^(AJ)courage now as always Christ ^(AK)will be honored in my body, ^(AL)whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me ^(AM)to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ^23 (AN)I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is ^(AO)to depart and ^(AP)be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴ But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ^25 (AQ)Convinced of this, ^(AR)I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your ^(AS)progress and ^(AT)joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that in me ^(AU)you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.