Passage

Philippians 3.6

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

4. though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh: if any other man thinketh to have confidence in the flesh, I yet more: 5. circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

6. as touching zeal, persecuting the church; as touching the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.

Howbeit what things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ. 8. Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ, (Philippians 3:4-8, ASV)

WEB

4. though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I yet more: 5. circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;

6. concerning zeal, persecuting the assembly; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.

However, I consider those things that were gain to me as a loss for Christ. 8. Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:4-8, WEB)

KJV

4. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5. Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

6. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, (Philippians 3:4-8, KJV)

YLT

4. though I also have [cause of] trust in flesh. If any other one doth think to have trust in flesh, I more; 5. circumcision on the eighth day! of the race of Israel! of the tribe of Benjamin! a Hebrew of Hebrews! according to law a Pharisee!

6. according to zeal persecuting the assembly! according to righteousness that is in law becoming blameless!

But what things were to me gains, these I have counted, because of the Christ, loss; 8. yes, indeed, and I count all things to be loss, because of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, because of whom of the all things I suffered loss, and do count them to be refuse, that Christ I may gain, and be found in him, (Philippians 3:4-8, 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

Paul is listing the credentials he has written off, and this verse is the climax of the list.

"As touching zeal, persecuting the church." In a Jewish framework zeal was a virtue with a pedigree: Phinehas (Numbers 25), Elijah, the Maccabees. Paul cites his persecution not as a confession at this point in the argument but as an item on a résumé, which is what makes the verse so uncomfortable and so revealing. The very thing he later calls the reason he is "the least of the apostles" (1 Cor 15:9) is listed here among his advantages, to show how completely the accounting has been reversed.

"Found blameless" as to the law's righteousness. Kata dikaiosynēn tēn en nomō genomenos amemptos. This is one of the most important sentences in the debate over Paul's pre-Christian conscience. It does not fit the older portrait of a young Pharisee tormented by guilt and failure, and it is a principal exhibit for the reading associated with Krister Stendahl, that the West read Luther's introspective conscience back into Paul. Amemptos denotes observable blamelessness within a community's standard, not sinless perfection, so the verse is claiming a real and public record rather than an interior state.

What that does to the argument. Paul's point in the chapter is not that he tried the law and failed. It is that he tried the law and succeeded, by every measure his community recognised, and then counted the whole account as loss for Christ (3:7-8). An argument from failure would be weaker; the argument from success is what gives verse 8 its force.

The list's structure. Verses 5 and 6 move from what he received (circumcision on the eighth day, tribe, ancestry) to what he achieved (Pharisee, zeal, blamelessness). Inherited privilege and personal attainment are both surrendered, which forecloses the reply that only one kind of confidence is in view.

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.

G2205 - zelos, zelos, Strong's G2205
G1343 - dikaiosyne, dikaiosyne, Strong's G1343
G1577 - ekklesia, ekklesia, Strong's G1577
G3551 - nomos, nomos, Strong's G3551
G1096 - ginomai, ginomai, Strong's G1096

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

People:

Simon the Zealot

Lexicon:

G2205 - zelos
G3551 - nomos, via Philippians 3.5-9

Passages:

Romans 7

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.