ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Philippians 1.8

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

6. being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7. even as it is right for me to be thus minded on behalf of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as, both in my bonds and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers with me of grace.

8. For God is my witness, how I long after you all in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus.

  1. 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; (Philippians 1:6-10, ASV)
WEB

6. being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. 7. It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace.

8. For God is my witness, how I long after all of you in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus.

  1. 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; (Philippians 1:6-10, WEB)
KJV

6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: perform: or, finish 7. Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. I have: or, ye have me in your heart of my: or, with me of grace

8. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.

  1. 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 (Philippians 1:6-10, KJV)
YLT

6. having been confident of this very thing, that He who did begin in you a good work, will perform [it] till a day of Jesus Christ, 7. according as it is righteous for me to think this in behalf of you all, because of my having you in the heart, both in my bonds, and [in] the defence and confirmation of the good news, all of you being fellow-partakers with me of grace.

8. For God is my witness, how I long for you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ,

  1. 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, (Philippians 1:6-10, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the Apostle, writing with Timothy named as co-sender (Phil 1:1).
  • Audience: The church at Philippi, a Roman colony in Macedonia and the first congregation Paul planted in Europe (Acts 16:11-40). The letter names overseers and deacons at 1:1 and thanks the church for repeated financial support.
  • Location: Written from imprisonment. Paul refers to his bonds and to "Caesar's household" (Phil 1:13, 4:22); the traditional identification is Roman custody, with Ephesus and Caesarea proposed as alternatives.
  • Time period: c. AD 60-62 on the traditional Roman-imprisonment dating.

Theological reading

Martys gar mou ho theos, hōs epipothō pantas hymas en splanchnois Christou Iēsou.

Splanchna, the strongest affection word available. Literally the inward parts, the viscera. Greek located deep feeling in the bowels rather than the heart, and the term denotes compassion at the level of physical response. English "affection" is too mild; the modern equivalent is closer to an ache.

The striking phrase is en splanchnois Christou Iēsou. Paul does not say he longs for them with his own affection but "in the splanchna of Christ Jesus." The most natural reading is that Christ's own affection is the medium and even the organ of Paul's longing, so that what the Philippians receive through Paul is Christ's feeling toward them. That is a remarkable thing to claim and it is easy to read past.

Epipothō, an intensified verb of yearning, used again of Epaphroditus at 2:26.

The oath. Martys mou ho theos, "God is my witness," is a solemn formula Paul uses sparingly (Romans 1:9, 2 Corinthians 1:23, 1 Thessalonians 2:5). Invoking it for an expression of affection rather than for a disputed fact indicates how much weight he places on the relationship, and it fits a letter that is in large part a thank-you note.

Function in the paragraph. The verse grounds the prayer of 1:9-11. Paul prays for their love to abound because he loves them, and the affection is presented as participation in Christ's rather than as a natural fondness.

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.

Quoted in

Concepts:

Lexicon:

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.