Passage

Philippians 2.4-5

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

2. make full my joy, that ye be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; 3. doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself;

4. not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others. 5. Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7. but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; (Philippians 2:2-7, ASV)

WEB

2. make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; 3. doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;

4. each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others. 5. Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,

who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7. but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:2-7, WEB)

KJV

2. Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

4. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (Philippians 2:2-7, KJV)

YLT

2. fulfil ye my joy, that ye may mind the same thing, having the same love, of one soul, minding the one thing, 3. nothing in rivalry or vain-glory, but in humility of mind one another counting more excellent than yourselves

4. each not to your own look ye, but each also to the things of others. 5. For, let this mind be in you that [is] also in Christ Jesus,

who, being in the form of God, thought [it] not robbery to be equal to God, 7. but did empty himself, the form of a servant having taken, in the likeness of men having been made, (Philippians 2:2-7, 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 verses complete the exhortation of Philippians 2:1-4 and introduce 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

Verse 4 completes the instruction of verse 3. "not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others" (Philippians 2:4, ASV). "Looking" is skopeō (G4648), to fix attention on; Paul uses it again at 3:17 for marking those who walk by his example. The "also" means the verse does not forbid attention to one's own affairs. It forbids attention that stops there.

Verse 5 ties the instruction to Christ. "Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5, ASV). The verb is phroneō, already used twice in 2:2. The way of thinking commanded in 2:2-4 is now grounded in a person, and the hymn that follows supplies its content. For the grammatical question in verse 5, see Philippians 2:5.

The hymn answers verse 4 directly. Verse 4 forbids looking only to one's own things. The hymn describes one who, possessing equality with God, did not treat it as something to hold onto for himself but "emptied himself" (Philippians 2:7, ASV). See Kenosis and Philippians 2:5-11. The letter then shows the negative and positive cases: "they all seek their own" (2:21), while Timothy and Epaphroditus look to the interests of others (2:19-30).

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.

G5547 - christos, christos, Strong's G5547
G2424 - Iesous, Iesous, Strong's G2424

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Arianism, via Philippians 2.5-11
Black People Shouldnt Be Christian, via Philippians 2.5-11
Christ Was Made (Misread Proof-Texts), via Philippians 2.5-11
Christianity, via Philippians 2.5-11
Christs Deity, via Philippians 2.5-11
Church at Philippi, via Philippians 2.5-11
Communicatio Idiomatum, via Philippians 2.5-11
Divine Hiddenness, via Philippians 2.5-11
Father-Son Authority Asymmetry, via Philippians 2.5-11
God is Impossible Paradox Cluster, via Philippians 2.5-11
Hypostatic Union, via Philippians 2.5-11
Incarnation, via Philippians 2.5-11
Inherited Guilt and Visiting Iniquity, via Philippians 2.5-11
Kenosis, via Philippians 2.5-11
Lesson 2.4, Christology in One Lesson, via Philippians 2.5-11
Original Sin, via Philippians 2.5-11
Panentheism, via Philippians 2.5-8
Pre-Pauline Creeds, via Philippians 2.5-11
Theandric Activities, via Philippians 2.5-11
Tree of Knowledge Objection, via Philippians 2.5-11
Trinity Invented at Nicaea Objection, via Philippians 2.5-11

Lexicon:

G0725 - harpagmos, via Philippians 2.5-11
G2424 - Iesous, via Philippians 2.5-11
G2758 - kenoo, via Philippians 2.5-6
G3444 - morphe, via Philippians 2.5-6
G3563 - nous, via Philippians 2.5
G3667 - homoioma, via Philippians 2.5-11
G5218 - hypakoe, via Philippians 2.5-11
G5293 - hypotasso, via Philippians 2.5-8
H1350 - goel, via Philippians 2.5-11
H5650 - ebed, via Philippians 2.5-11
H8034 - shem, via Philippians 2.5-11

Guides:

02 Faith and Worldview, via Philippians 2.5-11

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.