1 - Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
2 - Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 - I thank my God every time I remember you.
4 - In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
5 - because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
6 - being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 - It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.
8 - God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 - And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
10 - so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
11 - filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God.
12 - Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.
13 - As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard
14 - And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
15 - It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.
16 - The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.
17 - The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.
18 - But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
19 - for I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
20 - I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
21 - For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
22 - If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!
23 - I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
24 - but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
25 - Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,
26 - so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
27 - Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,
28 - without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved - and that by God.
29 - For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,
30 - since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.