ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Philippians 1.26
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Passage

Philippians 1.26

Book: Philippians · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

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;

26. that your glorying may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again.

  1. 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; 28. and in nothing affrighted by the adversaries: which is for them an evident token of perdition, but of your salvation, and that from God; (Philippians 1:24-28, ASV)
WEB

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,

26. that your rejoicing may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again.

  1. 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; 28. and in nothing frightened by the adversaries, which is for them a proof of destruction, but to you of salvation, and that from God. (Philippians 1:24-28, WEB)
KJV

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;

26. That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

  1. 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; 28. And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. (Philippians 1:24-28, KJV)
YLT

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,

26. that your boasting may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence again to you.

  1. 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, 28. and not terrified in anything by those opposing, which to them indeed is a token of destruction, and to you of salvation, and that from God; (Philippians 1:24-28, 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 gives the final purpose of Paul's expected release, closing his reflection on life and death (Philippians 1:19-26) before the exhortation that begins at 1:27.
  • 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 glorying is in Christ Jesus. "that your glorying may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again" (Philippians 1:26, ASV). "Glorying" is kauchēma (G2745), a ground or occasion for boasting. Paul rejects boasting in human standing and approves boasting in Christ: "glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3, ASV). The same noun returns at 2:16, where Paul hopes to have "whereof to glory in the day of Christ" (Philippians 2:16, ASV), so the glorying runs both ways between apostle and church.

"In me" names the occasion, not the object. The two phrases "in Christ Jesus" and "in me" are usually read as sphere and occasion: the church's boasting is located in Christ, and Paul's return supplies the reason for it. A reading that makes Paul himself the ground of their boasting sits poorly with 3:3.

"Presence" is parousia. The noun (parousia) is often used of the coming of Christ, as in "before our Lord Jesus at his coming" (1 Thessalonians 2:19, ASV). Here, as in "not as in my presence only" (Philippians 2:12, ASV), it has its ordinary sense of a person's arrival or presence, used of Paul himself. Context, not the word alone, decides when parousia is technical.

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.

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Concepts:

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.