Passage

Philippians 3.1

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

1. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not irksome, but for you it is safe.

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the concision: 3. for we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh: (Philippians 3:1-3, ASV)

WEB

1. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not tiresome, but for you it is safe.

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision. 3. For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh; (Philippians 3:1-3, WEB)

KJV

1. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. 3. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. (Philippians 3:1-3, KJV)

YLT

1. As to the rest, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord; the same things to write to you to me indeed is not tiresome, and for you [is] sure;

look to the dogs, look to the evil-workers, look to the concision; 3. for we are the circumcision, who by the Spirit are serving God, and glorying in Christ Jesus, and in flesh having no trust, (Philippians 3:1-3, 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 stands at the turn between the travel plans of chapter 2 and the warning that opens at Philippians 3:2.
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

"Finally" does not mean the letter is ending. "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord" (Philippians 3:1, ASV). To loipon (G3063) can mean "finally," but also "as for the rest" or "furthermore." Paul uses it again at 4:8, and the letter continues for two more chapters.

The abrupt turn at 3:2 is the basis of a debate about the letter's unity. Directly after a call to rejoice comes "Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the concision" (Philippians 3:2, ASV). Some interpreters argue that Philippians as we have it combines two or three letters, and that 3:2 marks a join. Others defend its unity, pointing to vocabulary shared across the sections, such as phroneō (2:2, 2:5, 3:15, 4:2) and the citizenship words of 1:27 and 3:20. Both positions are held.

"Rejoice in the Lord" is a command with a location. The imperative of chairō returns at 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always" (Philippians 4:4, ASV). "In the Lord" places the joy in a relationship rather than in circumstances, which is why a prisoner can command it.

What "the same things" refers to is debated. "To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not irksome, but for you it is safe" (Philippians 3:1, ASV). The phrase may point back to the call to rejoice, repeated throughout the letter, or forward to the warnings of 3:2, which Paul says elsewhere he had given "often" (3:18). "Safe" is asphalēs (G804), secure: repetition protects them.

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.

G2962 - kyrios, kyrios, Strong's G2962

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.