Passage

Philippians 2.12

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

10. that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, 11. 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;

for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. 14. Do all things without murmurings and questionings: (Philippians 2:10-14, ASV)

WEB

10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, 11. 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.

For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. 14. Do all things without murmurings and disputes, (Philippians 2:10-14, WEB)

KJV

10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11. 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.

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: (Philippians 2:10-14, KJV)

YLT

10. that in the name of Jesus every knee may bow, of heavenlies, and earthlies, and what are under the earth 11. 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,

for God it is who is working in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure. 14. All things do without murmurings and reasonings, (Philippians 2:10-14, 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

Meta phobou kai tromou tēn heautōn sōtērian katergazesthe.

"Work out," not "work for." Katergazomai means to bring to completion, to carry out what is already there, as one works out a mathematical problem whose answer is determined or works a mine that already contains ore. It is not ergazomai eis, working toward something not yet possessed. The verse assumes salvation is given and commands that it be brought to expression.

The next verse is not optional. Verse 13 supplies the ground: "for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure." The two verses are a single sentence in effect, and katergazesthe in 12 is answered by ho energōn in 13, the same verbal root. Quoting verse 12 without verse 13 produces a moralism the passage explicitly forbids, and quoting 13 without 12 produces a passivity it equally forbids.

Phobos kai tromos, fear and trembling. The pair is a Septuagint idiom for reverent seriousness before God, used by Paul of ordinary human relations too (1 Corinthians 2:3, 2 Corinthians 7:15, Ephesians 6:5), which tells against reading it as terror of damnation. It denotes the appropriate gravity of the undertaking.

"Not as in my presence only." The clause is the pastoral driver. Paul is absent and imprisoned, and the command concerns whether their obedience depends on his supervision. That framing suggests the "salvation" being worked out is corporate as much as individual, which fits the disunity the chapter addresses.

The traditions. Catholic readings find synergy here; Reformed readings find the classic statement that grace does not suspend effort but creates it. Both agree that verses 12 and 13 must be read together, which is more agreement than the popular use of either verse suggests.

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.

G5219 - hypakouo, hypakouo, Strong's G5219
G3952 - parousia, parousia, Strong's G3952
G4991 - soteria, soteria, Strong's G4991

Quoted in

Concepts:

Accountability Under Grace, via Philippians 2.12-13
Compatibilism, via Philippians 2.12-13
Concurrentism, via Philippians 2.12-13
Sanctification, via Philippians 2.12-13

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.