# Philippians 3.7-8 **Book:** [Philippians](/codex/philippians/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 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. > > **7. 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,** > > 9. and be found in him, not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith: 10. that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death; (Philippians 3:5-10, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 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. > > **7. 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** > > 9. and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10. that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death; (Philippians 3:5-10, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 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. > > **7. 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,** > > 9. And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (Philippians 3:5-10, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 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! > > **7. 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,** > > 9. not having my righteousness, which [is] of law, but that which [is] through faith of Christ, the righteousness that is of God by the faith, 10. to know him, and the power of his rising again, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, (Philippians 3:5-10, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** [Paul the Apostle](/codex/paul-the-apostle/), writing with Timothy named as co-sender (Philippians 1:1). - **Audience:** The [Church at Philippi](/codex/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 turn from Paul's list of credentials (Philippians 3:4-6) to his revaluation of them for Christ, which continues through Philippians 3:11. - **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 **Paul keeps a ledger of gain and loss.** "Howbeit what things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ" (Philippians 3:7, ASV). "Gain" is *kerdos* (G2771) and "loss" is *zēmia* (G2209), both commercial terms. In the Greek the gains are plural and the loss is singular: everything on the credit side is moved into one column of loss. Verse 7 uses the perfect tense, a reckoning made and still standing, and verse 8 the present, "I count all things to be loss" (Philippians 3:8, ASV), a reckoning Paul still makes. **The verb echoes Christ in 2:6.** "Counted" is *hēgeomai* (G2233), the verb of the Christ hymn: Christ "counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped" (Philippians 2:6, ASV). It is also the verb of 2:3, "each counting other better than himself" (Philippians 2:3, ASV). Paul's letting go of his status follows the pattern of Christ's, and he sets it before the church as the same mind in practice. **"Refuse" is a strong word, and its exact sense is debated.** "and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8, ASV). *Skybalon* (G4657) occurs only here in the New Testament. It can mean excrement, as the KJV's "dung", or refuse such as scraps thrown out. On either reading it expresses contempt for these credentials as a ground of confidence before God. It is not a dismissal of Israel's heritage as such, which Paul elsewhere lists as God's gifts (Romans 9:4-5). **The positive aim is knowing Christ.** "for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:8, ASV). "Excellency" is from *hyperechō* (G5242), to surpass, the verb of 4:7, the peace "which passeth all understanding" (Philippians 4:7, ASV). "Knowledge" is *gnōsis* (G1108), and "my Lord" makes it personal. The gain column reappears with Christ as its only entry, "that I may gain Christ", using *kerdainō* (G2770), as in 1:21, "to die is gain". ## 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](/codex/g5547-christos/), *christos*, Strong's G5547 - [G2962 - kyrios](/codex/g2962-kyrios/), *kyrios*, Strong's G2962 - [G2424 - Iesous](/codex/g2424-iesous/), *Iesous*, Strong's G2424 - [G3956 - pas](/codex/g3956-pas/), *pas*, Strong's G3956 ## Quoted in **Arguments and defeaters:** - [Argument from Desire](/codex/argument-from-desire/), via [Philippians 3.8-14](/codex/philippians-3-8-14/) - [Argument from the Resurrection](/codex/argument-from-the-resurrection/), via [Philippians 3.4-11](/codex/philippians-3-4-11/) - [Argument from Transformed Lives](/codex/argument-from-transformed-lives/), via [Philippians 3.5-7](/codex/philippians-3-5-7/), [Philippians 3.7-14](/codex/philippians-3-7-14/) **Concepts:** - [100 Common Questions](/codex/100-common-questions/), via [Philippians 3.8-9](/codex/philippians-3-8-9/) - [Justification by Faith](/codex/justification-by-faith/), via [Philippians 3.8-9](/codex/philippians-3-8-9/) **Lexicon:** - [G1097 - ginosko](/codex/g1097-ginosko/), via [Philippians 3.8](/codex/philippians-3-8/) - [G3551 - nomos](/codex/g3551-nomos/), via [Philippians 3.5-9](/codex/philippians-3-5-9/) - [H3045 - yada](/codex/h3045-yada/), via [Philippians 3.8](/codex/philippians-3-8/) ## 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](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/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](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.