Philippians 1 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Greetings from Paul

Phl 1:1This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders[fn] and deacons.

Phl 1:2

Phl 1:2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer

Phl 1:3

Phl 1:3Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

Phl 1:4

Phl 1:4Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy,

Phl 1:5

Phl 1:5for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.

Phl 1:6

Phl 1:6And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Phl 1:7

Phl 1:7So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News.

Phl 1:8

Phl 1:8God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

Phl 1:9

Phl 1:9I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.

Phl 1:10

Phl 1:10For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.

Phl 1:11

Phl 1:11May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ[fn]—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

Paul’s Joy That Christ Is Preached

Phl 1:12

Phl 1:12And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters,[fn] that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.

Phl 1:13

Phl 1:13For everyone here, including the whole palace guard,[fn] knows that I am in chains because of Christ.

Phl 1:14

Phl 1:14And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers[fn] here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message[fn] without fear.

Phl 1:15

Phl 1:15It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives.

Phl 1:16

Phl 1:16They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News.

Phl 1:17

Phl 1:17Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me.

Phl 1:18

Phl 1:18But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.

Phl 1:19

Phl 1:19For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.

Paul’s Life for Christ

Phl 1:20

Phl 1:20For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.

Phl 1:21

Phl 1:21For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.

Phl 1:22

Phl 1:22But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better.

Phl 1:23

Phl 1:23I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.

Phl 1:24

Phl 1:24But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

Phl 1:25

Phl 1:25Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.

Phl 1:26

Phl 1:26And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.

Live as Citizens of Heaven

Phl 1:27

Phl 1:27Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.

Phl 1:28

Phl 1:28Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.

Phl 1:29

Phl 1:29For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.

Phl 1:30

Phl 1:30We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(1:1)

Or overseers; or bishops.

(1:11)

Greek with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ.

(1:12)

Greek brothers.

(1:13)

Greek including all the Praetorium.

(1:14)

Greek brothers in the Lord.

(1:14)

Some manuscripts read speak the message.

BLB Footnotes

(1:16)

The order for Philippians 1:16 & 17 is reversed in the mGNT Greek when compared to the TR Greek text. English translations based on the mGNT and TR Greek manuscripts will also follow their respective manuscript's order.

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For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

Philippians Chapter 1 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Morphological Greek New Testament Textus Receptus Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

Philippians 1 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

NLT Footnotes

BLB Footnotes

Philippians Chapter 1 — Additional Translations:

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