1Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus,

2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

4always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all,

5in view of your Or sharing in the preaching of the gospelparticipation in the gospel from the first day until now.

6For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work Or inamong you will complete it Lit untilby the day of Christ Jesus.

7Lit Just as it is rightFor it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my Lit bondsimprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are Or partners inpartakers of grace with me.

8For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the Lit inward partsaffection of Christ Jesus.

9And this I pray, that your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,

10so that you may Or approve the things that matterdiscover the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ;

11having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.

12Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,

13so that my Lit bondsimprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the Or governor’s palacepraetorian guard and to everyone else,

14and that most of the brothers and sisters, Or in the Lord, trusting because oftrusting in the Lord because of my Lit bondsimprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

15Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even Lit because offrom envy and strife, but some also Lit because offrom goodwill;

16the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;

17the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition Lit not sincerelyrather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my Lit bondsimprisonment.

18What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

19for I know that this will turn out for my Or salvationdeliverance through your Lit supplicationprayers 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.

22Or But if to live in the flesh, this will be fruitful labor for me, then IBut if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know Lit what I shall choosewhich 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 Lit ofin 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 Lit soulmind 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.

29For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf,

30experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.