ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Philippians 2.10
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Passage

Philippians 2.10

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

8. and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. 9. Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name;

10. that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth,

  1. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12. So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; (Philippians 2:8-12, ASV)
WEB

8. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. 9. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;

10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,

  1. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12. So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:8-12, WEB)
KJV

8. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. fashion: or habit 9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

  1. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:8-12, KJV)
YLT

8. and in fashion having been found as a man, he humbled himself, having become obedient unto death, death even of a cross, 9. wherefore, also, God did highly exalt him, and gave to him a name that [is] above every name,

10. that in the name of Jesus every knee may bow, of heavenlies, and earthlies, and what are under the earth

  1. and every tongue may confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12. So that, my beloved, as ye always obey, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, with fear and trembling your own salvation work out, (Philippians 2:8-12, 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 is the first of the two purpose clauses that close the Christ hymn (Philippians 2:6-11).
  • 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 verse begins the use of Isaiah 45:23. In Isaiah the speaker is Jehovah, who says "unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear" (Isaiah 45:23, ASV), in a chapter that repeatedly denies any other god (45:21-22). Paul applies the words to the homage given to Jesus. Paul quotes the same verse at Romans 14:11 of standing before God's judgment. For the full argument from this allusion, see Philippians 2:10-11 and Philippians 2:9-11.

"In the name of Jesus," and which name is meant. The ASV renders en tō onomati Iēsou as "in the name of Jesus"; the KJV has "at the name." The bowing takes place in, or in honor of, the name given in verse 9. Whether that name is "Jesus" itself or the title "Lord" confessed in verse 11 is debated; see Philippians 2:9-11 for the case that it is the title (onoma, kyrios).

Three realms, in words that can be read as persons or things. "of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth" (Philippians 2:10, ASV) renders epouraniōn (G2032), epigeiōn (G1919) and katachthoniōn (G2709, found only here in the New Testament). These genitive plural forms are the same in the masculine and the neuter, so they may mean beings (heavenly beings, people on earth, the dead or spirits below) or all things. The ASV and KJV take them as neuter, "things." On either reading the scope is total.

Universal acknowledgment is not the same as universal willingness. Whether the bowing of every knee implies the salvation of all is debated. The verse states the extent of the homage, not its inner character. In Isaiah's own context the next verse adds that "all they that were incensed against him shall be put to shame" (Isaiah 45:24, ASV), so the acknowledgment there includes opponents who are shamed.

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

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

Guides:

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.

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