Philippians 1:17-28
New American Standard Bible
18What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. But not only that, I also will rejoice,
19for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20according to my eager expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
21For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.
23But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;
24yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes.
25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,
26so that your pride in Christ Jesus may be abundant because of me by my coming to you again.
27Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
28and in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, from God.
King James Version
Chapter 1
17But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. 19For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
23For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
24Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
25And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;
26That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.
27Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
28And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 1
17the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. 18What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice 19because I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 20My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
21For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
22Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don't know which one I should choose.
23I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ--which is far better--
24but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
25Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,
26so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound.
27Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the gospel,
28not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your salvation--and this is from God.
New Living Translation
Chapter 1
17Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. 19For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.
20For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.
21For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.
22But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better.
23I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.
24But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
25Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.
26And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.
27Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.
28Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.
English Standard Version
Chapter 1
17The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
19for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,
20as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.
23I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
24But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,
26so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
27Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
28and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.
New International Version
18But 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,
19for 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.
20I 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.
21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
22If 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!
23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,
26so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
27Whatever 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, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel
28without 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.
New King James Version
Chapter 1
17but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 18What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.
19For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
21For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.
23For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
24Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.
25And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith,
26that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.
27Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,
28and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.
