Philippians 1 — Berean Standard Bible

¹ Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with [the] overseers and deacons: ² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and [the] Lord Jesus Christ. ³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In every prayer for all of you, I always pray with joy, ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until [the] day of Christ Jesus. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in [my] heart. [For] in my chains and in [my] defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me. ⁸ God [is] my witness how I long for all of you with [the] affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And this [is] my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to test and prove what is best [and] may be pure and blameless for [the] day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with [the] fruit of righteousness that [comes] through Jesus Christ, to [the] glory and praise of God. ¹² Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances {have} actually served to advance the gospel. ¹³ As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else [that] I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴ And most of the brothers, confident in [the] Lord by my chains, [now] dare more greatly to speak the word without fear. ¹⁵ It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but [others] out of goodwill. ¹⁶ The [latter] do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for [the] defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The [former], however, preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to [the] distress of my chains. ¹⁸ What then [ is the issue ]? Just this: that in every way, whether by false motives or true, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, ¹⁹ because I know that through your prayers and [the] provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, [ my distress ] will turn out for my deliverance. ²⁰ I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me, to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain. ²² But if I go on living in [the] body, this [will mean] fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know. ²³ I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, [which is] far better indeed. ²⁴ But [it is] more necessary for you that I remain in the body. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that through my coming to you again your exultation in Christ Jesus will resound on account of me. ²⁷ Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, [I will know] that you stand firm in one spirit, contending together as one for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸ without being frightened in [any way] by those who oppose [you]. [This] is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and [it] [is] from God. ²⁹ For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, ³⁰ [since] you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and [now] hear that I still have.