Passage

Philippians 4.12

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

10. But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at length ye have revived your thought for me; wherein ye did indeed take thought, but ye lacked opportunity. 11. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content.

12. I know how to be abased, and I know also how to abound: in everything and in all things have I learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want.

I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me. 14. Howbeit ye did well that ye had fellowship with my affliction. (Philippians 4:10-14, ASV)

WEB

10. But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at length you have revived your thought for me; in which you did indeed take thought, but you lacked opportunity. 11. Not that I speak in respect to lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it.

12. I know how to be humbled, and I know also how to abound. In everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in need.

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. 14. However you did well that you shared in my affliction. (Philippians 4:10-14, WEB)

KJV

10. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. ^{hath: or, is revived} 11. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

12. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 14. Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. (Philippians 4:10-14, KJV)

YLT

10. And I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at length ye flourished again in caring for me, for which also ye were caring, and lacked opportunity; 11. not that in respect of want I say [it], for I did learn in the things in which I am, to be content;

12. I have known both to be abased, and I have known to abound; in everything and in all things I have been initiated, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want.

For all things I have strength, in Christ's strengthening me; 14. but ye did well, having communicated with my tribulation; (Philippians 4:10-14, 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

Oida kai tapeinousthai, oida kai perisseuein; en panti kai en pasin memyēmai kai chortazesthai kai peinan, kai perisseuein kai hystereisthai.

Contentment is presented as learned, not native. The verse sits between emathon at verse 11, "I learned," and the famous claim of verse 13. Manthanō denotes acquisition by instruction or experience, so Paul is describing a competence developed over time rather than a temperament he happened to have.

Memyēmai, the striking verb. Perfect passive of myeō, "I have been initiated." The word belongs to the mystery religions, where initiates were taught secrets through staged rites. Paul appropriates the vocabulary of pagan initiation for something learned in prison and hunger: the secret is not esoteric knowledge but sufficiency in Christ. Given that Philippi hosted such cults, the borrowing would have registered.

The pairs are symmetrical and that is the point. Being abased and abounding, being filled and being hungry, having plenty and being in want. Both sides require learning. Prosperity is named as a condition one must learn to handle, which is the half usually skipped when the passage is quoted.

Chortazesthai was originally used of fattening animals and had become ordinary for being fed, but the earthiness suits a verse about literal hunger.

Why it matters for verse 13. "I can do all things through him that strengtheneth me" is the immediate sequel, and verse 12 defines its scope. The "all things" are the circumstances just listed: plenty and hunger, abundance and need. The verse is about sufficiency under any condition, not about achieving whatever one attempts, which is the most common misuse of the passage in the corpus of popular Christian quotation.

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.

G1492 - oida, oida, Strong's G1492
G3956 - pas, pas, Strong's G3956

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Argument from Sanctity, via Philippians 4.4-13

Concepts:

Church at Philippi, via Philippians 4.11-13

Lexicon:

G1492 - oida

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.