Passage

Philippians 4.15-16

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

13. I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me. 14. Howbeit ye did well that ye had fellowship with my affliction.

15. And ye yourselves also know, ye Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and receiving but ye only; 16. for even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my need.

Not that I seek for the gift; but I seek for the fruit that increaseth to your account. 18. But I have all things, and abound: I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. (Philippians 4:13-18, ASV)

WEB

13. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. 14. However you did well that you shared in my affliction.

15. You yourselves also know, you Philippians, that in the beginning of the Good News, when I departed from Macedonia, no assembly shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you only. 16. For even in Thessalonica you sent once and again to my need.

Not that I seek for the gift, but I seek for the fruit that increases to your account. 18. But I have all things, and abound. I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, a sweet-smelling fragrance, an acceptable and well-pleasing sacrifice to God. (Philippians 4:13-18, WEB)

KJV

13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 14. Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.

15. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. 16. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. 18. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. ^{I have all: or, I have received all} (Philippians 4:13-18, KJV)

YLT

13. For all things I have strength, in Christ's strengthening me; 14. but ye did well, having communicated with my tribulation;

15. and ye have known, even ye Philippians, that in the beginning of the good news when I went forth from Macedonia, no assembly did communicate with me in regard to giving and receiving except ye only; 16. because also in Thessalonica, both once and again to my need ye sent;

not that I seek after the gift, but I seek after the fruit that is overflowing to your account; 18. and I have all things, and abound; I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God: (Philippians 4:13-18, 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

The most specific financial record in the Pauline corpus.

"In the beginning of the gospel." En archē tou euangeliou refers to the earliest phase of the Macedonian and Achaian mission, when Paul left Macedonia for Athens and Corinth.

Eis logon doseōs kai lēmpseōs, "in the matter of giving and receiving."** This is bookkeeping vocabulary, an accounting of debits and credits. Paul is using the language of a ledger, and the whole passage sustains it: verse 17 speaks of fruit that increases to their account (eis logon hymōn), and verse 18 uses apechō, a term found on ancient receipts meaning "paid in full."

"No church had fellowship with me but ye only." The exclusivity is striking and is corroborated elsewhere: at 2 Corinthians 11:8-9 Paul says he "robbed other churches" and that his want was supplied by brethren from Macedonia. He generally refused support from congregations where he was working, notably Corinth (1 Corinthians 9), to avoid the appearance of peddling the word. Philippi is the standing exception.

"Once and again." Kai hapax kai dis, at least twice, sent to Thessalonica, which is roughly a hundred miles from Philippi. That they supported him while he was working in a different city is the detail that shows the partnership was for the gospel rather than for services rendered to themselves.

The theological turn. Having kept a ledger for four verses, Paul refuses the transactional reading at verse 17: "not that I seek for the gift, but I seek for the fruit that increaseth to your account." And verse 18 reclassifies the money as sacrificial worship, "an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God," using Levitical language. The gift travelled to Paul; the offering was made to God.

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.

G0746 - arche, arche, Strong's G0746
G2098 - euangelion, euangelion, Strong's G2098
G1577 - ekklesia, ekklesia, Strong's G1577
G3056 - logos, logos, Strong's G3056
G1492 - oida, oida, Strong's G1492

Quoted in

Concepts:

Church at Philippi

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.