1 Paul and Timothy, slaves of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
2 Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you
4 always in every prayer of mine for you all, making request with joy,
5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,
6 being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.
7 Even as it is right for me to think this of you all because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are joint partakers of my grace.
8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
9 And this I pray that your charity may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all perception,
10 that ye may approve the best, that ye may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ,
11 being filled with fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel,
13 so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places;
14 and many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach the Christ even out of envy and strife, but others also out of good will.
16 Some preach the Christ out of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add tribulation to my bonds,
17 but the others out of charity, knowing that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel.
18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice, and will even rejoice.
19 For I know that this shall become my saving health through your prayer and the nourishment of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 according 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.
21 For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour, yet I do not know what to choose.
23 For I am in a strait between the two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better:
24 nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith,
26 that your glorying in Jesus Christ may be more abundant by my coming to you again.
27 Only let your conversation be as is worthy of 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, unanimous, working together for the faith of the gospel,
28 and in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of saving health and that of God.
29 For unto you it is granted regarding Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake,
30 having the same conflict which ye saw in me and now hear to be in me.