ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Philippians 2.15

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

13. 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:

15. that ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world,

  1. holding forth the word of life; that I may have whereof to glory in the day of Christ, that I did not run in vain neither labor in vain. 17. Yea, and if I am offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all: (Philippians 2:13-17, ASV)
WEB

13. 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,

15. that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,

  1. holding up the word of life; that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ, that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain. 17. Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all. (Philippians 2:13-17, WEB)
KJV

13. 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:

15. That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; harmless: or, sincere ye shine: or, shine ye

  1. Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. 17. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. offered: Gr. poured forth (Philippians 2:13-17, KJV)
YLT

13. 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,

15. that ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God, unblemished in the midst of a generation crooked and perverse, among whom ye do appear as luminaries in the world,

  1. the word of life holding forth, for rejoicing to me in regard to a day of Christ, that not in vain did I run, nor in vain did I labour; 17. but if also I am poured forth upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and joy with you all, (Philippians 2:13-17, 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

Hina genēsthe amempta kai akeraioi, tekna theou amōma meson geneas skolias kai diestrammenēs, en hois phainesthe hōs phōstēres en kosmō.

Three adjectives, and they are not synonyms. Amemptoi, blameless, concerns reputation before others. Akeraioi, literally unmixed or unadulterated, concerns inner integrity; it is the word behind "harmless as doves" at Matthew 10:16. Amōma, without blemish, is sacrificial vocabulary from the Septuagint, used of animals fit for offering. The sequence moves from how they are seen, to what they are, to their fitness for God.

The allusion is to Deuteronomy 32:5. "A perverse and crooked generation" (genea skolia kai diestrammenē) is drawn from the Song of Moses, where the phrase describes Israel itself in its rebellion. Paul applies it to the surrounding pagan society, which is a pointed reversal: the language once used of the covenant people is now used of the world among whom the church shines.

Phōstēres. The noun denotes luminaries and is used in the Septuagint of Genesis 1:14-16 for the sun and moon set in the firmament. The church is placed in the world the way lights were placed in the sky, which makes visibility the point rather than separation.

"Ye are seen" or "shine." Phainesthe can be indicative (you do shine) or imperative (shine). The indicative is more likely given the hina clause governing the sentence, and it is theologically the stronger reading: the luminaries are already set, and the command is to be blameless so that what they already are is not obscured.

Context. The verse is the purpose clause following "do all things without murmurings and disputings" (2:14). The witness in view is produced by the absence of internal complaint, which ties the paragraph back to the disunity the letter addresses.

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.

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.