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and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God every time I remember you, 4 constantly praying with joy in all of my prayers for you, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this, that He who has begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart. Whether I am in chains or in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partakers with me of grace. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly 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 in depth of discernment, 10 so that you may be able to determine what is best and can be pure and blameless until 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, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Most of the brothers in the Lord have been made more confident by my chains, and they dare to speak the word more courageously and without fear.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defence of the gospel; 17 but the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can cause more suffering for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? Only that in every way, whether out of false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 It is my eager expectation and hope that I will in not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honoured in my body, whether by life or by death.
21 For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to continue living in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which one I should choose. 23 I am torn between the two; my desire is to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. 25 Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that when I come to you again, your joy in Christ Jesus may be even more abundant on account of me.
27 Only, let your conduct be in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you, and only hear about you when I am absent, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving together with one mind for the faith of the gospel, 28 without being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is a sign to them of their destruction, but of your deliverance-and that from God. 29 For it 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 that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.