Passage

Philippians 2.5

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

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 2:3-7, ASV)

WEB

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 2:3-7, WEB)

KJV

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 2:3-7, KJV)

YLT

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 2:3-7, 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 verse is the hinge between the exhortation of Philippians 2:1-4 and 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 second clause has no verb, so its sense is debated. The Greek reads literally "think this among you, which also in Christ Jesus." The ASV and KJV supply "was": "Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5, ASV); the Greek has no word for "was," and translators supply it. Two readings follow. The ethical reading takes the hymn as an example: have the attitude Christ had. The other reading supplies a verb such as "you have" and takes "in Christ Jesus" in Paul's usual sense of union with him: think this way among yourselves, as is fitting for those who are in Christ Jesus. The second does not deny that Christ is an example, but grounds the command in belonging to him.

"In you" may be communal. En hymin can mean "within each of you" or "among you." Since 2:2-4 is about how members treat one another, a communal sense fits the context well, though the individual sense is also possible.

Either way, Christ's self-humbling becomes the norm. The verse links words on both sides. "Lowliness of mind" at 2:3 is tapeinophrosynē (G5012), and "he humbled himself" at 2:8 is tapeinoō (G5013), from the same root. What the church is told to practice is what Christ did. See Philippians 2:5-11 for the hymn and Philippians 2:4-5 for the link with verse 4.

Phroneō is the letter's characteristic verb. It occurs at 1:7, twice in 2:2, here, twice in 3:15, at 3:19 and 4:2, and twice in 4:10, with a further occurrence at 3:16 in the manuscripts the KJV follows. It names a settled way of thinking, and verse 5 identifies the pattern for it.

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.

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
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

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.