Passage

Philippians 1.25

Book: Philippians · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

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: 24. 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;

that your glorying may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again. 27. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ: that, whether I come and see you or be absent, I may hear of your state, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the gospel; (Philippians 1:23-27, ASV)

WEB

23. But I am in a dilemma between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24. 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,

that your rejoicing may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again. 27. Only let your way of life be worthy of the Good News of Christ, that, whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your state, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the Good News; (Philippians 1:23-27, WEB)

KJV

23. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: 24. 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;

That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. 27. Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; (Philippians 1:23-27, KJV)

YLT

23. for I am pressed by the two, having the desire to depart, and to be with Christ, for it is far better, 24. 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,

that your boasting may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence again to you. 27. Only worthily of the good news of the Christ conduct ye yourselves, that, whether having come and seen you, whether being absent I may hear of the things concerning you, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul, striving together for the faith of the good news, (Philippians 1:23-27, 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 draws the conclusion of Paul's reflection on life and death (Philippians 1:19-26): he expects to remain and to see the church again.
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 resolves into expectation. "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 1:25, ASV). "Having this confidence" is from peithō (G3982), to be persuaded, and "I know" is oida. "Abide" is menō (G3306), followed by a compound of the same verb for "abide with", a small play on words: he will stay, and stay alongside them.

How certain "I know" is, is debated. Some read it as a prophetic certainty given to Paul. Others read it as a conviction drawn from the reasoning of verse 24: since remaining is "more needful for your sake", he is persuaded he will remain. "This confidence" points back to verse 24, which favors the second reading. Elsewhere in the letter Paul speaks more guardedly, "if I am offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith" (Philippians 2:17, ASV), and Timothy is to be sent "so soon as I shall see how it will go with me" (Philippians 2:23, ASV). Whether he was in fact released depends on the place and date of this imprisonment and cannot be settled from this verse alone.

The aim is the church's progress. "Progress" is prokopē (G4297), the noun Paul used of his own circumstances, which "have fallen out rather unto the progress of the gospel" (Philippians 1:12, ASV). His imprisonment served the progress of the gospel, and his release would serve the progress of the church, in "joy" (chara, G5479) and in "the faith" (pistis).

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.

G4102 - pistis, pistis, Strong's G4102
G1492 - oida, oida, Strong's G1492
G3956 - pas, pas, Strong's G3956

Quoted in

Concepts:

Church at Philippi, via Philippians 1.12-26

Notes

Your annotations.

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.