PHP 2:16 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:12–18: Believers should obey God so that they show other people how God wants people to behave

Paul reminded the Philippian believers that when they obeyed God as Jesus did (2:6–8), God would help them to give the gospel to those in spiritual darkness. As long as they were faithful, Paul knew that his work and even his suffering would not be in vain.

Paragraph 2:14–16

Theme: Believers should be different from those who are evil and should show people the message of life.

2:16a

as you hold forth the word of life,

Faithfully tell the message that gives eternal life.
Tell people the good news about how they can live forever.

hold forth the word of life: There are two ways to understand this phrase:

It means to hold forth the word of life, to proclaim it so that others can know God. (BSB, NIV, GNT, KJV, REB, NJB, NET, NCV)
It means to hold on to the word of life, to continue believing it so that the believer will not fail to trust God. (RSV, NASB, GW, NLT, CEV)

Interpretation (1) fits better in this context, and it is recommended that you follow it.

the word of life: This means the message that brings/gives eternal life.

2:16b

in order that I may boast on the day of Christ

If you act like this, I will have every reason to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns to earth
Do this so that I can rejoice at the time when Christ comes back.

This clause refers back generally to all the things Paul taught in 2:14–16a.

in order that I may boast: The notes on 2:16c explain what Paul would boast about. Two ways to show how this clause joins to 2:16a could be:

Do this so that I can be proud.

If you do this then I can boast.

boast: The Greek word that the BSB translates as boast here means “to be proud of someone or something” or “to be very happy and confident about something or someone.” This Greek word occurs also in 1:26, where the BSB translates it as “exultation,” and in its root form in 3:3, where the BSB translates it as “glory.”

Some languages may have more than one word for boast. People may use a different word depending on whether they think boasting is a good thing or a bad thing to do. For example, in English, the word boast usually has a negative meaning, but the phrase “be proud of” is more positive. Paul obviously felt that it was good for him to boast here. Therefore, if your language has more than one word for boasting, choose the one with the positive meaning.

the day of Christ: See note on 1:6b.

2:16c

that I did not run or labor in vain.

because it will be clear that all my efforts and my hard work among you have not been wasted.
I want to rejoice that the way I made a great effort and worked hard among you brought good results.

Paul told here what he would boast about. If the Philippian believers remained faithful to God, he would be able to boast that his work among them had made a difference in how they thought and acted. In some languages the translator may need to use a direct quote. For example:

I will not have to say, “I taught them in vain.”

that I did not run or labor in vain: Paul meant that he would be proud that his hard work had proved useful or profitable. It had not been a waste of effort.

run: This does not literally mean run. Paul was using the metaphor of a person running a race in order to receive a prize (see also Hebrews 12:1 and Philippians 3:12–14). He meant making great efforts to faithfully teach the good news. Paul would be proud when he knew that the ones he taught had been faithful to Christ.

labor: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as labor means “to work hard, toil.” It implies that Paul struggled and suffered and became weary while he was taking the gospel to the Philippians.

in vain: The phrase in vain means “in vain, with no good results.”

General Comment on 2:16c

Notice that Paul used two negatives in the same phrase (“not…in vain”). This is not possible in every language. Sometimes it is necessary to restate the phrase a positive way. The second meaning line in the Display for 2:16c gives one example of how to do this. Another way could be:

…that I finished the race and that my work was successful.

uW Translation Notes:

λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες

˓the˒_word ˱of˲_life holding_up

Here, holding forth could mean: (1) holding out to others the word of life. Alternate translation: [holding out the word of life] or [offering the word of life] (2) holding firmly to the word of life. Alternate translation: [holding tightly to the word of life] or [holding firmly to the word of life]

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες

˓the˒_word ˱of˲_life holding_up

The phrase holding forth the word of life continues the thought from the previous verse and shows in more detail how Christians can become “blameless and pure, children of God” who “shine as lights in the world.” Consider the best way to show this connection in your language. Alternate translation: [as you hold forth the word of life]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

λόγον ζωῆς

˓the˒_word ˱of˲_life

The phrase word of life refers to the good news about Jesus. If this would be unclear in your language, consider translating this phrase in plain language. Alternate translation: [the message that gives life] or [the life-giving gospel] or [the life-giving message]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

λόγον

˓the˒_word

Here the phrase the word means “the gospel.” In his writings, Paul often uses word to refer to the message of the gospel. In doing this, Paul is describing something Christians communicate to others by associating it with words. If this is not clear in your language, you could use an equivalent expression, or use plain language. Alternate translation: [the message] or [the gospel] or [the good news]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

λόγον ζωῆς

˓the˒_word ˱of˲_life

The phrase the word of life could mean: (1) the word that gives people life. Alternate translation: [the word that gives life] (2) the word that is about life and that gives life. Alternate translation: [the word that is about life and gives life] (3) the word which contains life and has the ability to give people life. Alternate translation: [the word that contains and gives life] If your language allows you to keep the phrase the word of life ambiguous, this is the best option. If your language does not allow you to do this, you may specify clearly how the phrase of life is related to the word.

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

λόγον ζωῆς

˓the˒_word ˱of˲_life

If it would be clearer in your language, you could express the abstract noun life by using it in a verbal phrase. Alternate translation: [the life-giving word] or [the word which gives life]

Note 6 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

εἰς καύχημα ἐμοὶ εἰς ἡμέραν Χριστοῦ, ὅτι οὐκ εἰς κενὸν ἔδραμον, οὐδὲ εἰς κενὸν ἐκοπίασα

to ˓a˒_boast in in in (Some words not found in SR-GNT: λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες εἰς καύχημα ἐμοί εἰς ἡμέραν Χριστοῦ ὅτι οὐκ εἰς κενόν ἔδραμον οὐδέ εἰς κενόν ἐκοπίασα)

With the phrase for my boasting on the day of Christ, Paul introduces a reason that the Philippian believers should try to live out the things he has just told them to do in [2:12](../02/12.md) and ending with the phrase “holding forth the word of life.” Paul here gives one reason for what he has just asked them to do. He says that if they live out what he has just told them, then when Christ returns, he can be proud of the fact that he did not work in vain among them. Consider the best way in your language to show this reason-result relationship. Alternate translation: [so that I will be able to boast on the day Christ returns that I did not run in vain or labor in vain]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

εἰς καύχημα ἐμοὶ

Here, boasting refers to Paul being rightfully proud of God’s work in the lives of the Philippian believers. If it would be clearer in your language, consider stating this explicitly. Alternate translation: [so that I may be rightfully proud of God’s work in you] or [so that I might glory in God’s work in you]

εἰς καύχημα ἐμοὶ

Alternate translation: [so that I may boast] or [in order that I have good reason to glory]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

εἰς ἡμέραν Χριστοῦ,

to in ˓the˒_day ˱of˲_Christ

The phrase the day of Christ refers to the time in the future when Christ will return. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [when Christ returns] or [at the time Christ returns]

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

οὐκ εἰς κενὸν ἔδραμον, οὐδὲ εἰς κενὸν ἐκοπίασα

not in (Some words not found in SR-GNT: λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες εἰς καύχημα ἐμοί εἰς ἡμέραν Χριστοῦ ὅτι οὐκ εἰς κενόν ἔδραμον οὐδέ εἰς κενόν ἐκοπίασα)

The phrases run in vain and labor in vain have very similar meanings here. Paul uses these two phrases together to emphasize how hard he has worked to help people believe in Christ and mature in their obedience and love for him. You may translate these two phrases separately, as the ULT does, or if it would be clearer in your language, you may translate them together as a single phrase. Alternate translation: [I did not work so hard for nothing] or [I did not work hard with no lasting results]

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

οὐκ εἰς κενὸν ἔδραμον

Paul uses the word run metaphorically to mean “work.” Here Paul specifically means that he worked for the advancement of the gospel among the Philippians. Paul uses the word run to bring to the Philippians’ minds the image of a runner who is racing toward a finish line in order to win a prize. If this image is familiar to people in your culture, consider using this metaphor. But if this image is not familiar to your readers, consider stating this idea in plain language. Alternate translation: [I did not work for the advancement of the gospel uselessly] or [I did not work for the spread of the good news for nothing] or [I did not run the race uselessly]

(Occurrence -1) εἰς κενὸν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: λόγον ζωῆς ἐπέχοντες εἰς καύχημα ἐμοί εἰς ἡμέραν Χριστοῦ ὅτι οὐκ εἰς κενόν ἔδραμον οὐδέ εἰς κενόν ἐκοπίασα)

Alternate translation: [for no purpose … for no purpose] or [without positive results … without positive results] or [for nothing … for nothing]

Note 11 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

οὐδὲ εἰς κενὸν ἐκοπίασα

Paul uses the word labor to refer to his spiritual work of sharing the gospel with the Philippian believers and working to help them grow in spiritual maturity. Paul assumes that his readers will know that he is referring to his spiritual work among them. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [or work hard for nothing, trying to help you believe in Christ and obey him]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear PHP 2:16

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 2:12–18: Believers should obey God so that they show other people how God wants people to behave

Paragraph 2:14–16

2:16a

2:16b

2:16c

General Comment on 2:16c

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)