Passage

Philippians 4.6

Book: Philippians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

4. Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice. 5. Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

6. In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. 8. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:4-8, ASV)

WEB

4. Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, “Rejoice!” 5. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

6. In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. 8. Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:4-8, WEB)

KJV

4. Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. 5. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

6. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. ^{honest: or, venerable} (Philippians 4:4-8, KJV)

YLT

4. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice; 5. let your forbearance be known to all men; the Lord [is] near;

6. for nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer, and by supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God;

and the peace of God, that is surpassing all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. 8. As to the rest, brethren, as many things as are true, as many as [are] grave, as many as [are] righteous, as many as [are] pure, as many as [are] lovely, as many as [are] of good report, if any worthiness, and if any praise, these things think upon; (Philippians 4:4-8, 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 sits in a run of short commands (Philippians 4:4-9) and is followed by the promise of God's peace in verse 7.
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

The command forbids anxiety and prescribes prayer in its place. "In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6, ASV). The verb is merimnaō (G3309), the word of Jesus' teaching "Be not anxious for your life" (Matthew 6:25, ASV). The contrast "in nothing" and "in everything" leaves no area of life outside the scope of prayer. A similar instruction appears in 1 Peter 5:7, "casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you" (1 Peter 5:7, ASV).

The same verb can name proper care. In 2:20 Paul praises Timothy, who "will care truly for your state" (Philippians 2:20, ASV), using merimnaō again. What is forbidden in 4:6 is not concern for others but the anxious burden that is kept to oneself instead of being brought to God.

Four words describe the prayer. "Prayer" is proseuchē (G4335), the general word. "Supplication" is deēsis (G1162), specific petition, the word of Paul's own prayer for them in 1:4. "Requests" is aitēma (G155), the things asked for. "Thanksgiving" is eucharistia (G2169), which accompanies the asking rather than waiting for the answer. The result, in verse 7, is not a promise that every request will be granted but that "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7, ASV).

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.

G4314 - pros, pros, Strong's G4314
G3956 - pas, pas, Strong's G3956
G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Church at Philippi, via Philippians 4.6-7
External Sources of Thought, via Philippians 4.6-7
Prayer, via Philippians 4.6-7
Spirit of Anxiety, via Philippians 4.6-7

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.