⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, ^(A)He humbled Himself by becoming ^(B)obedient to the point of death: ^(C)death ^[a]on a cross. ^9 (D)For this reason also God ^(E)highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him ^(F)the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus ^(G)every knee will bow, of ^(H)those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ^(I)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹² So then, my beloved, ^(J)just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own ^(K)salvation with ^(L)fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is ^(M)God who is at work in you, both to ^[b]desire and to work ^(N)for His good pleasure.

¹⁴ Do all things without ^(O)complaining or arguments; ¹⁵ so that you will ^[c]prove yourselves to be ^(P)blameless and innocent, ^(Q)children of God above reproach in the midst of a ^(R)crooked and perverse generation, among whom you ^[d](S)appear as ^[e]lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding firmly the word of life, so that on ^(T)the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not ^(U)run in vain nor ^(V)labor in vain. ¹⁷ But even if I am being ^(W)poured out as a drink offering upon ^(X)the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. ¹⁸ You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹ But I hope, ^[f]in the Lord Jesus, to ^(Y)send ^(Z)Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. ²⁰ For I have no one else ^(AA)of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. ²¹ For they all ^(AB)seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. ²² But you know ^(AC)of his proven character, that ^(AD)he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel ^(AE)like a child serving his father. ^23 (AF)Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; ²⁴ and ^(AG)I trust in the Lord that I myself will also be coming shortly. ²⁵ But I thought it necessary to send to you ^(AH)Epaphroditus, my brother and ^(AI)fellow worker and ^(AJ)fellow soldier, who is also your ^[g](AK)messenger and ^(AL)minister to my need, ²⁶ because he was longing ^[h]for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. ²⁷ For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸ Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly, so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. ^29 (AM)Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and ^(AN)hold people like him in high regard, ³⁰ because he came close to death ^[i](AO)for the work of Christ, risking his life to ^(AP)compensate ^[j]for your absence in your service to me.

Jesus Briefly Humbled

⁹ But we do see Him who was ^(A)made ^[a]for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, ^(B)because of His suffering death ^(C)crowned with glory and honor, so that ^(D)by the grace of God He might ^(E)taste death ^(F)for everyone.