Passage

Philippians 1.21-23

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

19. For I know that this shall turn out to my salvation, through your supplication and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20. according to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing shall I be put to shame, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified 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 to live in the flesh,,if this shall bring fruit from my work, then what I shall choose I know not. 23. But I am in a strait betwixt the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ; for it is very far better:

yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for your sake. 25. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide, yea, and abide with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith; (Philippians 1:19-25, ASV)

WEB

19. For I know that this will turn out to my salvation, through your supplication and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20. according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will in no way be disappointed, but with all boldness, as always, now also Christ will be magnified 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 live on in the flesh, this will bring fruit from my work; yet I don’t know what I will choose. 23. But I am in a dilemma between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

Yet, to remain in the flesh is more needful for your sake. 25. Having this confidence, I know that I will remain, yes, and remain with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, (Philippians 1:19-25, WEB)

KJV

19. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20. According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

21. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. 23. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. 25. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; (Philippians 1:19-25, KJV)

YLT

19. For I have known that this shall fall out to me for salvation, through your supplication, and the supply of the Spirit of Christ Jesus, 20. according to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, and in all freedom, as always, also now Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death,

21. for to me to live [is] Christ, and to die gain. 22. And if to live in the flesh [is] to me a fruit of work, then what shall I choose? I know not; 23. for I am pressed by the two, having the desire to depart, and to be with Christ, for it is far better,

and to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account, 25. and of this being persuaded, I have known that I shall remain and continue with you all, to your advancement and joy of the faith, (Philippians 1:19-25, 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 verses weigh the two possible outcomes of Paul's trial (Philippians 1:19-26).
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 dilemma is presented as a real choice. "But I am in a strait betwixt the two" (Philippians 1:23, ASV). The verb is synechō (G4912), used elsewhere of a crowd pressing on Jesus (Luke 8:45) and of enemies hemming in Jerusalem (Luke 19:43). Paul is held between two goods, not between a good and an evil. For the compressed statement of verse 21 that sets up the bind, see Philippians 1:21.

"To depart" is analyō. The verb (G360) has the basic sense of loosing or releasing. Its only other New Testament occurrence is Luke 12:36, of a master returning from a wedding feast. Paul uses it of his own death, and he pairs it at once with its destination: "having the desire to depart and be with Christ" (Philippians 1:23, ASV).

"Very far better" piles up comparatives. The Greek stacks three words (the KJV tags G4183, G3123 and G2908, "much," "more," "better"). Paul strains the language to say how much better being with Christ is than present life.

These verses are central to the debate over the intermediate state. Many read them as teaching conscious presence with Christ immediately after death, before the bodily resurrection Paul expects at 3:20-21, and compare "to be at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8, ASV). Others, who hold that the dead sleep until the resurrection, argue that Paul speaks from the standpoint of the one who dies, for whom the next conscious moment is the resurrection. What the text itself secures is that departure leads to being with Christ, and that this is better than continued life.

The counterweight is the church. Remaining "in the flesh" means "fruit from my work" (1:22) and is "more needful for your sake" (1:24). For the frame of verse 20, which makes either outcome acceptable, see Philippians 1:20-23.

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; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G2198 - zao, zao, Strong's G2198
G4561 - sarx, sarx, Strong's G4561
G5547 - christos, christos, Strong's G5547

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Angels, via Philippians 1.23
Church at Philippi, via Philippians 1.12-26, Philippians 1.20-23
Eschatology, via Philippians 1.21, Philippians 1.23
Heaven, via Philippians 1.23
Nabeel Qureshi (Conversion 2003-2014), via Philippians 1.21
New Heavens and New Earth, via Philippians 1.23
Property Dualism, via Philippians 1.23
Resurrection of the Body, via Philippians 1.23
Soul, via Philippians 1.23
Spiritualism, via Philippians 1.23
Substance Dualism, via Philippians 1.23

Lexicon:

G2198 - zao, via Philippians 1.21
G5590 - psyche, via Philippians 1.23

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.