Passage

Philippians 2.24

Book: Philippians · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

22. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a child serveth a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the gospel. 23. Him therefore I hope to send forthwith, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me:

24. but I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall come shortly.

But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need; 26. since he longed after you all, and was sore troubled, because ye had heard that he was sick: (Philippians 2:22-26, ASV)

WEB

22. But you know the proof of him, that, as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News. 23. Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me.

24. But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly.

But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need; 26. since he longed for you all, and was very troubled, because you had heard that he was sick. (Philippians 2:22-26, WEB)

KJV

22. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel. 23. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me.

24. But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.

Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. 26. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. (Philippians 2:22-26, KJV)

YLT

22. and the proof of him ye know, that as a child [serveth] a father, with me he did serve in regard to the good news; 23. him, indeed, therefore, I hope to send, when I may see through the things concerning me, immediately;

24. and I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall quickly come.

And I thought [it] necessary Epaphroditus, my brother, and fellow-workman, and fellow-soldier, and your apostle and servant to my need, to send unto you, 26. seeing he was longing after you all, and in heaviness, because ye heard that he ailed, (Philippians 2:22-26, 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 closes Paul's plan to send Timothy (Philippians 2:19-24), before he turns to Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25-30).
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

Paul's confidence is placed "in the Lord". "but I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall come shortly" (Philippians 2:24, ASV). "Trust" is from peithō (G3982), the verb of 1:25, "having this confidence". "In the Lord" (kyrios) frames the plan as dependent on Christ, as in the parallel at the start of the paragraph: "But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you" (Philippians 2:19, ASV). The order is Timothy first, then Paul himself "shortly" (tacheōs, G5030).

The hope is held with open hands. Just before, Paul says he will send Timothy "so soon as I shall see how it will go with me" (Philippians 2:23, ASV). His expectation of release (1:25) and his readiness for death (2:17) stand side by side. A similar hope appears in Philemon: "prepare me also a lodging: for I hope that through your prayers I shall be granted unto you" (Philemon 1:22, ASV).

The verse figures in the debate over where Paul was held. The letter implies several journeys between Paul's prison and Philippi: news of his imprisonment reached the church, Epaphroditus came with the gift, word of his illness went back, and Timothy and then Paul are expected to travel (2:19-30). Those who favor Ephesus argue that these journeys and a prompt visit fit a city a short voyage from Philippi better than distant Rome. Those who favor Rome reply that the journeys can be spread over a custody of two years (Acts 28:30) along well-used routes. The verse shows that Paul expected to travel soon; it does not by itself settle where he was.

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.

G2962 - kyrios, kyrios, Strong's G2962

Quoted in

Concepts:

Church at Philippi, via Philippians 2.19-24

Notes

Your annotations.

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.