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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Php 2 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29
OET (OET-LV) because because_of the work of_chosen_one/messiah unto death he_neared, having_risked with_his life, in_order_that he_may_fulfill_up the of_you_all lacking, of_the toward me ministry.
OET (OET-RV) because he nearly died after risking his life doing the work of Messiah, but he was able to minister to me in a way that all of you there couldn’t.
Paul wrote that, as soon as he knew what would happen to him, he would send Timothy to the Philippians to tell them his news and to bring back news from them. But first Paul would send Epaphroditus. The Philippians should welcome him back and honor him.
Some time before this letter was written, Epaphroditus brought a gift to Paul from the church in Philippi, his home town (see 4:18). While he was with Paul, Epaphroditus had become very sick, and almost died, but God had spared his life. The Philippian believers had heard about his illness. Therefore, as soon as he got well, Paul sent him back to Philippi so that the believers there would not worry.
Epaphroditus was probably the person who brought this letter to the Philippians. Therefore, Paul used past tenses in this paragraph as though Epaphroditus had already arrived in Philippi. This was because Paul was already imagining the Philippians reading the letter after Epaphroditus arrived in Philippi. However, in some languages it may be necessary to use a present tense. Use whatever tenses are most natural in your language.
because he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life
because he almost died in order to serve Christ and he risked his life
Honor him because he risked his life and almost died as a result of doing Christ’s work.
because: The Greek word could also be translated “since.” This verse explains why the Philippians should honor Epaphroditus.
for the work of Christ: That is, Epaphroditus was serving Christ when he went to help Paul.
risking his life: This repeats the same idea as “he almost died.” A person is risking his life when he does something that might cause him to die. Paul did not say what this was, but it was probably whatever caused Epaphroditus to become sick.
It may be necessary in some languages to reverse these two phrases. See the second Meaning Line in the Display.
to make up for your deficit of service to me.
in order to represent you in helping as you could not do in person.
He did this so that he could help me in the ways that you are not able to do because you could not come here.
to make up for your deficit of service to me: The Philippian believers wanted to help Paul, but they could not all go to Rome. So they had sent Epaphroditus with their gifts to help Paul. He represented them as he helped Paul. One way you could translate this more clearly is:
He helped me as you would have if you had been here.
Be sure your translation does not sound as if Paul were complaining that the Philippians had not done enough for him.
Note 1 topic: writing-pronouns
ὅτι διὰ τὸ ἔργον Χριστοῦ μέχρι θανάτου ἤγγισεν, παραβολευσάμενος τῇ ψυχῇ, ἵνα ἀναπληρώσῃ τὸ ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα, τῆς πρός με λειτουργίας
because (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅτι διά τό ἔργον Χριστοῦ μέχρι θανάτου ἤγγισεν παραβολευσάμενος τῇ ψυχῇ ἵνα ἀναπληρώσῃ τό ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα τῆς πρός μέ λειτουργίας)
The pronouns he and him refer to Epaphroditus. If it would be helpful in your language, consider clarifying this in a way that would be natural in your language. Alternate translation: [since for the sake of the work of Christ, Epaphroditus came near even to death, risking his life so that he might make up your lack of service to me]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
διὰ τὸ ἔργον Χριστοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅτι διά τό ἔργον Χριστοῦ μέχρι θανάτου ἤγγισεν παραβολευσάμενος τῇ ψυχῇ ἵνα ἀναπληρώσῃ τό ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα τῆς πρός μέ λειτουργίας)
In the phrase the work of Christ, Paul is using the possessive form to describe work that is done for Christ. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind this phrase in some other way. Alternate translation: [for the sake of working for Christ] or [as a result of working for Christ]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
διὰ τὸ ἔργον Χριστοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅτι διά τό ἔργον Χριστοῦ μέχρι θανάτου ἤγγισεν παραβολευσάμενος τῇ ψυχῇ ἵνα ἀναπληρώσῃ τό ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα τῆς πρός μέ λειτουργίας)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of work, you can express the idea behind the abstract noun work with a verbal form such as “working.” Alternate translation: [for the sake of working for Christ] or [as a result of working for Christ]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
μέχρι θανάτου ἤγγισεν
unto death ˱he˲_neared
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of death, you can express the idea behind the abstract noun death with an adjective such as “dying” or with a verbal form such as died, as the UST does. Alternate translation: [he was close to dying] or [he came close to dying]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
παραβολευσάμενος τῇ ψυχῇ
˓having˒_risked ˱with˲_his life
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of life, you can express the idea behind the phrase risking his life in some other way. Alternate translation: [running the risk of dying] or [taking the risk that he would die]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἵνα ἀναπληρώσῃ τὸ ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα, τῆς πρός με λειτουργίας
in_order_that ˱he˲_˓may˒_fulfill_up (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅτι διά τό ἔργον Χριστοῦ μέχρι θανάτου ἤγγισεν παραβολευσάμενος τῇ ψυχῇ ἵνα ἀναπληρώσῃ τό ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα τῆς πρός μέ λειτουργίας)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of service, you can express the idea behind the word service by using a verb form such as “serve.” Alternate translation: [so that he might make up for your being unable to serve me]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἵνα ἀναπληρώσῃ τὸ ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα, τῆς πρός με λειτουργίας
in_order_that ˱he˲_˓may˒_fulfill_up (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅτι διά τό ἔργον Χριστοῦ μέχρι θανάτου ἤγγισεν παραβολευσάμενος τῇ ψυχῇ ἵνα ἀναπληρώσῃ τό ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα τῆς πρός μέ λειτουργίας)
The lack of service Paul speaks of here is the inability of the Philippian believers to be present with him in prison. By sending Epaphroditus to Paul, the Philippian believers ministered to Paul’s needs through Epaphroditus, and so Epaphroditus supplied what they could not. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [so that he might supply what you could not give me] or [so that he might make up for what you could not give]
2:25-30 Paul commends Epaphroditus (see also 4:18), a messenger from the church at Philippi whom he was now sending back to them, perhaps carrying this letter.
• The description fellow soldier suggests the difficulties, opposition, and dangers encountered in Christ’s work.
OET (OET-LV) because because_of the work of_chosen_one/messiah unto death he_neared, having_risked with_his life, in_order_that he_may_fulfill_up the of_you_all lacking, of_the toward me ministry.
OET (OET-RV) because he nearly died after risking his life doing the work of Messiah, but he was able to minister to me in a way that all of you there couldn’t.
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.