Philippians 2
If there is any consolation in Christ, comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit, bowels and compassions — fill up my joy by thinking the same thing, together in life. Not selfish ambition nor empty glory, but in lowliness of mind counting one another higher. Think what was also in Christ Jesus — being in the form of God he did not count equality with God a thing to be snatched, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, in the likeness of men, and humbled himself, obedient until death, death of a cross. Therefore God highly exalted him and gave him the name above every name — every knee bending, every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling — God works both the wanting and the working. Without grumblings, luminaries in a crooked generation, holding up the word of life. If I am poured out as a libation, I rejoice with you. He hopes to send Timothy — no one else of equal life. Epaphroditus was sick close to death, but God had mercy — hold in honour the one who hazarded his life.
Why this rendering
Phil.2.2 Observation
Syntactic observation
Εἴ τις οὖν παράκλησις ἐν Χριστῷ, εἴ τι παραμύθιον ἀγάπης, εἴ τις κοινωνία πνεύματος, εἴ τις σπλάγχνα καὶ οἰκτιρμοί, πληρώσατέ μου τὴν χαρὰν ἵνα τὸ αὐτὸ φρονῆτε, τὴν αὐτὴν ἀγάπην ἔχοντες, σύμψυχοι, τὸ ἓν φρονοῦντες, μηδὲν κατ’ ἐριθείαν μηδὲ κατὰ κενοδοξίαν, ἀλλὰ τῇ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ ἀλλήλους ἡγούμενοι ὑπερέχοντας ἑαυτῶν — If then there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and compassions, fill up my joy — that you think the same thing, having the same love, together in life, thinking the one thing, nothing according to selfish ambition nor according to empty glory, but in lowliness of mind counting one another as being higher than yourselves. Verse 1 lines up four εἴ τις without a verb — all four ‘if any’. παράκλησις (consolation) and παραμύθιον (comfort) are different words — the latter shares a root with παραμυθία at 1 Cor 14:3, hence ‘comfort’. σπλάγχνα is 1:8 ‘bowels’ · οἰκτιρμοί is Rom 12:1 ‘compassions’ (plural). Verse 2 surrounds ‘think the same thing’ (the phrase of Rom 12:16 · 15:5 · 2 Cor 13:11) with σύμψυχοι (once in the New Testament — a compound of ψυχή ‘life’, ‘together in life’) and ‘thinking the one thing’. κενοδοξία occurs once — κενός (empty) + δόξα (glory), so ‘empty glory’. ταπεινοφροσύνη is Acts 20:19 · Eph 4:2 ‘lowliness of mind’ (not ‘humility’). ὑπερέχω is Rom 13:1 ‘be higher’ — ‘as being higher than yourselves’.
Rendering options · 4
Basis ψυχή fixed as ‘life’ — returns to the root with 1:27 ‘with one life’ · 2:20 ‘of equal life’.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected ‘Mind/accord’ belongs to καρδία · νοῦς, and the three ψυχ- compounds of this chapter (vv.2 · 19 · 20) would lose their shared root.
Basis κενός ‘empty’ · δόξα ‘glory’ as fixed — the same word as v.16 ‘in vain (empty)’.
Basis The one-word familiar rendering.
Rejected It hides δόξα ‘glory’ inside the word — the word set against v.11 ‘the glory of God’.
Lost in translation
Four εἴ τις (v.1) — four verbless conditions, ‘if any … there is’. ‘There is’ is supplied.
σύμψυχοι (v.2) / εὐψυχῶ (v.19) / ἰσόψυχον (v.20) — three compounds of ψυχή. ‘Together in life · cheered · of equal life’ — two of three carry ‘life’.
κενοδοξίαν (v.3) / εἰς κενόν (v.16) — ‘empty glory / in vain’: the rendering keeps κενός only on one side.
παράκλησις / παραμύθιον (v.1) — ‘consolation / comfort’ keep the two words apart.
Why this rendering
Phil.2.6 Observation
Syntactic observation
ὃς ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα θεῷ, ἀλλὰ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν μορφὴν δούλου λαβών, ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος· καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν γενόμενος ὑπήκοος μέχρι θανάτου, θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ· διὸ καὶ ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸν ὑπερύψωσεν — who, being in the form of God, did not count being equal with God a thing to be snatched, but made himself empty, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men; and being found in shape as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient until death — and death of a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted him. ἁρπαγμός occurs once in the New Testament — the noun of John 10:12 ἁρπάζω ‘snatch’. Whether it is ‘a thing held on to’ or ‘a thing to be seized’ the word leaves open, so only the root is kept: ‘a thing to be snatched’. Three words stay apart — μορφή ‘form’ (Mark 16:12) · ὁμοίωμα ‘likeness’ (Rom 8:3) · σχῆμα ‘shape’ (1 Cor 7:31). ἴσα θεῷ ‘equal with God’ is the phrase of John 5:18. ἐκένωσεν is 1 Cor 9:15 ‘make empty’ — reflexive, ‘made himself empty’. ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτόν is the verb of Luke 14:11 ‘the one who humbles himself’. θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ takes the genitive up again and narrows it — ‘until death — and death of a cross’. ὑπερυψόω occurs once — the verb of Luke 14:11 ‘be exalted’ with ὑπέρ.
Rendering options · 4
Basis The noun of ἁρπάζω ‘snatch’ (John 10:12) — whether holding on or grabbing, the word leaves open.
Basis The reading that he held on to what he had.
Rejected ‘Grasp/hold’ belongs to κρατέω, and ‘what he had’ is interpretation, not the text’s word.
Basis As fixed at Mark 16:12 · Rom 8:3 · 1 Cor 7:31.
Basis ‘Make empty’ as fixed at 1 Cor 9:15 — with a reflexive object.
Lost in translation
ἁρπαγμόν — the openness between holding on and grabbing. ‘A thing to be snatched’ keeps the root but leans one way.
μορφῇ · ὁμοιώματι · σχήματι — three words, ‘form · likeness · shape’.
ἐταπείνωσεν (v.8) / ὑπερύψωσεν (v.9) — the two verbs of Luke 14:11 ‘humble / exalt’ return here. ‘Humbled / exalted’ ○.
ἴσα θεῷ — the same phrase as John 5:18 ‘equal with God’ is visible.
θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ — a genitive taking up a genitive. ‘Until death — and death of a cross’ keeps it without a supplement.
Why this rendering
Phil.2.10 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἵνα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ καταχθονίων, καὶ πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσηται ὅτι κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς εἰς δόξαν θεοῦ πατρός — so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, unto the glory of God the Father. ‘Every knee should bend · every tongue should confess’ is the phrase of Isa 45:23 quoted at Rom 14:11 — the two places keep the same words. The three genitives (ἐπουρανίων · ἐπιγείων · καταχθονίων) are open in form between masculine (persons) and neuter (things) — ‘those’. καταχθόνιος occurs once in the New Testament. ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι is ‘in the name’ — not paraphrased ‘at the name’. The content of the confession, κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, has no verb and puts κύριος first — ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’. ⸀τό (v.9) is the base text’s article — ‘the name’.
Rendering options · 3
Basis The site-rule of Eph 1:3 ‘the heavenlies’ — masculine and neuter do not differ in form.
Basis The reading that knees and tongues belong to persons and spirits.
Rejected It closes a gender the text leaves open.
Basis A verbless confession; ‘is’ is supplied and κύριος-first order is not carried (recorded below).
Lost in translation
ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ καταχθονίων — three genitives open between masculine and neuter. ‘Those’ leans to persons.
κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός — verbless, with κύριος first. ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’ adds ‘is’ and reverses the order.
πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ … πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσηται — the same words as Rom 14:11, ‘knee bend · tongue confess’.
ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι — ‘in the name’ keeps the preposition.
Why this rendering
Phil.2.12 Observation
Syntactic observation
Ὥστε, ἀγαπητοί μου, καθὼς πάντοτε ὑπηκούσατε, μὴ ὡς ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ μου μόνον ἀλλὰ νῦν πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐν τῇ ἀπουσίᾳ μου, μετὰ φόβου καὶ τρόμου τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν κατεργάζεσθε, θεὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἐνεργῶν ἐν ὑμῖν καὶ τὸ θέλειν καὶ τὸ ἐνεργεῖν ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐδοκίας — So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both the wanting and the working, for the sake of the good pleasure. παρουσία and ἀπουσία are a pair — the site-rule of 2 Cor 10:10 ‘presence’; ἀπουσία occurs once in the New Testament (the noun of 1:27 ἄπειμι ‘be absent’). φόβος καὶ τρόμος is the pair of 1 Cor 2:3 · Eph 6:5. κατεργάζεσθε is 2 Cor 7:10 ‘work out’, ἐνεργῶν · ἐνεργεῖν are Eph 1:11 ‘work’ — all three are words of ἔργον (work), and ‘work out / work’ keep the piece. τὸ θέλειν καὶ τὸ ἐνεργεῖν are two articular infinitives — ‘the wanting and the working’. ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐδοκίας has no pronoun saying whose — ‘for the sake of the good pleasure’, left unfilled. ⸀θεός (v.13) is without article — ‘it is God’.
Rendering options · 3
Basis ‘Work out’ as fixed at 2 Cor 7:10 — the same root as v.13 ‘works’.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected ‘Accomplish’ belongs to τελέω — the ‘through to the end’ of κατ- would vanish.
Basis The text has no pronoun — ‘his’ is not supplied.
Lost in translation
παρουσίᾳ / ἀπουσίᾳ — ‘presence / absence’ show the pair.
κατεργάζεσθε / ἐνεργῶν / ἐνεργεῖν — three words of ἔργον. ‘Work out / works / working’ keep the piece.
ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐδοκίας — whose good pleasure the text leaves unsaid, and so does the rendering.
Why this rendering
Phil.2.15 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἵνα γένησθε ἄμεμπτοι καὶ ἀκέραιοι, τέκνα θεοῦ ἄμωμα μέσον γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης, ἐν οἷς φαίνεσθε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες, εἰς καύχημα ἐμοὶ εἰς ἡμέραν Χριστοῦ, ὅτι οὐκ εἰς κενὸν ἔδραμον οὐδὲ εἰς κενὸν ἐκοπίασα — so that you may become faultless and unmixed, children of God, blameless in the middle of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you appear as luminaries in the world, holding up the word of life, for a boast to me unto the day of Christ, that I did not run in vain nor labour in vain. Three negative adjectives come in one verse — ἄμεμπτος (the negation of Rom 9:19 ‘find fault’ · Luke 1:6) · ἀκέραιος (Matt 10:16 ‘unmixed’) · ἄμωμος (Eph 1:4 ‘blameless’ — the negation of ‘find blemish’). Luke 1:6 had rendered ἄμεμπτος ‘blameless’, overlapping with ἄμωμος; it was realigned to ‘faultless’. γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης is the phrase of Deut 32:5 — Acts 2:40 ‘crooked generation’ · Luke 9:41 ‘twisted generation’ each carry one of the two words. φαίνεσθε is a form that can be indicative or imperative — the context is statement, so indicative; φαίνω is fixed as Matt 13:26 ‘appear’ (‘shine’ is λάμπω). φωστήρ occurs twice in the New Testament (Rev 21:11). ἐπέχω is open between ‘hold fast’ and ‘hold forth’ — ‘hold up’. The two εἰς κενόν are the phrase of Gal 2:2 ‘in vain’.
Rendering options · 5
Basis μέμφομαι ‘find fault’ (Rom 9:19) · ἀκέραιος ‘unmixed’ (Matt 10:16) · ἄμωμος ‘blameless’ (Eph 1:4) as fixed — Luke 1:6 realigned to ‘faultless’.
Basis The earlier rendering of Luke 1:6.
Rejected Two words would become one within a single verse — ἄμεμπτος and ἄμωμος have different roots.
Basis The context is statement; φαίνω is fixed as Matt 13:26 ‘appear’.
Basis The familiar rendering reading an imperative and paraphrasing ‘shine’.
Rejected ‘Shine’ belongs to λάμπω; the form is open but the sentence is a statement (recorded below).
Basis Neither ‘hold fast’ (κρατέω) nor ‘hold out’ (ἐκτείνω) is free — a word that closes neither sense.
Lost in translation
ἄμεμπτοι · ἀκέραιοι · ἄμωμα — three negative adjectives, ‘faultless · unmixed · blameless’.
φαίνεσθε — one form for indicative and imperative. ‘You appear’ closes it as indicative.
σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης — the two words of Acts 2:40 · Luke 9:41, ‘crooked · twisted’, the same as there.
εἰς κενὸν … εἰς κενόν (v.16) — ‘in vain’ twice shows the same phrase.
φωστῆρες — ‘luminaries’ keeps it one word.
Why this rendering
Phil.2.25 Observation
Syntactic observation
Ἀναγκαῖον δὲ ἡγησάμην Ἐπαφρόδιτον τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ συνεργὸν καὶ συστρατιώτην μου, ὑμῶν δὲ ἀπόστολον καὶ λειτουργὸν τῆς χρείας μου, πέμψαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς … ὅτι διὰ τὸ ἔργον Χριστοῦ μέχρι θανάτου ἤγγισεν, παραβολευσάμενος τῇ ψυχῇ ἵνα ἀναπληρώσῃ τὸ ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα τῆς πρός με λειτουργίας — But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your apostle and minister to my need … because for the work of Christ he drew near up to death, hazarding his life so that he might fill up your lack of service toward me. Five names fall on one man — three ‘my’ (brother · fellow worker · fellow soldier), two ‘your’ (apostle · minister). ἀπόστολος is ‘apostle’ by the site-rule of 2 Cor 8:23 ‘apostles of assemblies’ — not lowered to ‘messenger’. λειτουργός (v.25) and λειτουργία (vv.17 · 30) are one root — ‘minister / service’ (the piece is lost). Verse 27 παραπλήσιον θανάτῳ ‘close to death’ (once in the New Testament) and v.30 μέχρι θανάτου ἤγγισεν ‘drew near up to death’ are two different sayings. παραβολεύομαι occurs once — ‘hazard one’s life’. The Received Text reads a different verb here, giving ‘not regarding his life’ — the base text (⸀) is followed. ἀναπληρόω + ὑστέρημα ‘fill up the lack’ is the pair of 1 Cor 16:17. λύπην ἐπὶ λύπην (v.27) / ἀλυπότερος (v.28) — ‘sorrow upon sorrow / less sorrowful’.
Rendering options · 4
Basis The site-rule of 2 Cor 8:23 ‘apostles of assemblies’ — the text has one word.
Basis The familiar rendering, keeping the Twelve apart.
Rejected It divides what the text does not — and ‘messenger’ is also the place of ἄγγελος.
Basis The base text’s reading (⸀) — ψυχή fixed as ‘life’.
Basis The different verb read by the Received Text.
Rejected The translation does not alter the base text’s reading.
Lost in translation
λειτουργόν (v.25) / λειτουργίας (vv.17 · 30) — ‘minister / service’ cut the root.
λύπην ἐπὶ λύπην (v.27) / ἀλυπότερος (v.28) — ‘sorrow / less sorrowful’ keep the root.
παραπλήσιον θανάτῳ (v.27) / μέχρι θανάτου ἤγγισεν (v.30) — ‘close to death / drew near up to death’ keep the two sayings apart.
The base text’s ⸀ (v.30) — the sign that the Received Text reads a different verb. A rendering shows one reading only.
ἀναπληρώσῃ τὸ ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα — the same pair as 1 Cor 16:17 ‘filled up your lack’ is visible.