Passage

Philippians 1.11

Book: Philippians · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

9. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; 10. so that ye may approve the things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and void of offence unto the day of Christ;

11. being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Now I would have you know, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the progress of the gospel; 13. so that my bonds became manifest in Christ throughout the whole prætorian guard, and to all the rest; (Philippians 1:9-13, ASV)

WEB

9. This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; 10. so that you may approve the things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ;

11. being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Now I desire to have you know, brothers, that the things which happened to me have turned out rather to the progress of the Good News; 13. so that it became evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ; (Philippians 1:9-13, WEB)

KJV

9. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; ^{judgment: or, sense} 10. That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; ^{approve: or, try} ^{are: or, differ}

11. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13. So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; ^{in Christ: or, for Christ} ^{the palace: or, Csar's court} ^{in all other: or, to all others} (Philippians 1:9-13, KJV)

YLT

9. and this I pray, that your love yet more and more may abound in full knowledge, and all judgment, 10. for your proving the things that differ, that ye may be pure and offenceless, to a day of Christ,

11. being filled with the fruit of righteousness, that [is] through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

And I wish you to know, brethren, that the things concerning me, rather to an advancement of the good news have come, 13. so that my bonds have become manifest in Christ in the whole praetorium, and to the other places, all, (Philippians 1:9-13, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle, writing with Timothy named as co-sender (Philippians 1:1).
Audience: The Church at Philippi, in a Roman colony of Macedonia (Acts 16:12), founded on the mission narrated in Acts 16 and addressed with its bishops and deacons (Philippians 1:1). The church had sent Paul a gift by Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25-30, 4:18). The verse completes the prayer of Philippians 1:9-11 and closes the letter's opening thanksgiving section (Philippians 1:3-11).
Location: Written from imprisonment (Philippians 1:7, 1:13). The place is debated: Rome is the traditional identification, and Ephesus and Caesarea are proposed as alternatives.
Time period: Depends on the imprisonment: c. AD 60-62 if Rome, c. AD 57-59 if Caesarea, the mid-50s if Ephesus.

Theological reading

The fruit is righteousness, and it comes through Christ. "being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:11, ASV). "Fruit" is karpos (G2590) and "righteousness" is dikaiosynē. The image has roots in the prophets, who charged Israel with having "turned justice into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood" (Amos 6:12, ASV), and it recurs in Hebrews 12:11 and in "the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace" (James 3:18, ASV). "Being filled" is passive, and in a prayer the one who fills is God.

What "of righteousness" means is debated. One reading takes it as fruit that consists of righteousness, that is, upright conduct, which suits a prayer that the church be "sincere and void of offence" (1:10). Another takes it as fruit that springs from righteousness as God's gift, and points to 3:9, "the righteousness which is from God by faith" (Philippians 3:9, ASV). The phrase "which are through Jesus Christ" fits either, and many readers combine them: the righteousness given in Christ produces righteous conduct.

The goal is the glory of God. The prayer ends "unto the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:11, ASV), with doxa (doxa). The Christ hymn ends on the same note, "to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:11, ASV). Growth in love and discernment is not finally for the church's own credit but for God's praise.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

G1343 - dikaiosyne, dikaiosyne, Strong's G1343
G1391 - doxa, doxa, Strong's G1391
G5547 - christos, christos, Strong's G5547
G2424 - Iesous, Iesous, Strong's G2424
G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316

Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.