PHP 3:7 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. Ἀλλά
2. alla
3. But
4. -
5. 2350
6. C·······
7. but
8. but
9. S
10. Y64
11. 131853
1. ἅτινα
2. hostis
3. which things
4. which
5. 37480
6. R····NNP
7. which ‹things›
8. which ‹things›
9. -
10. Y64; F131859
11. 131854
1. ἦν
2. eimi
3. was
4. -
5. 15100
6. VIIA3··S
7. was
8. was
9. -
10. Y64
11. 131855
1. μοί
2. egō
3. to me
4. -
5. 14730
6. R···1D·S
7. ˱to˲ me
8. ˱to˲ me
9. -
10. Y64
11. 131856
1. ἦν
2. eimi
3. -
4. -
5. 15100
6. VIIA3··S
7. was
8. was
9. -
10. -
11. 131857
1. κέρδη
2. kerdos
3. gain
4. -
5. 27710
6. N····NNP
7. gain
8. gain
9. -
10. Y64
11. 131858
1. ταῦτα
2. houtos
3. these
4. -
5. 37780
6. R····ANP
7. these
8. these
9. -
10. Y64; R131854
11. 131859
1. ἥγημαι
2. hēgeomai
3. I have considered
4. -
5. 22330
6. VIEM1··S
7. ˱I˲ ˓have˒ considered
8. ˱I˲ ˓have˒ considered
9. -
10. Y64; R130717; Person=Paul
11. 131860
1. διά
2. dia
3. because of
4. because
5. 12230
6. P·······
7. because_of
8. because_of
9. -
10. Y64
11. 131861
1. τόν
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····AMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y64
11. 131862
1. Χριστόν
2. χristos
3. chosen one messiah
4. Messiah
5. 55470
6. N····AMS
7. chosen_one/messiah
8. Messiah
9. WN
10. Y64; Person=Jesus
11. 131863
1. ζημίαν
2. zēmia
3. loss
4. -
5. 22090
6. N····AFS
7. loss
8. loss
9. -
10. Y64
11. 131864

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–4:1: The Philippians should follow Paul’s example and trust Christ to make them righteous

Paul told the believers to watch out for those who were teaching that believers must be circumcised. He also warned them against those who were proud of doing evil. He encouraged them to follow his example instead. Paul tried to be like Christ and depended on him alone in order to become righteous.

In both 3:1 and 4:1, Paul talked about being joyful. Therefore, it is possible to consider that 3:1 is an introduction to this section and 4:1 is a summary of this section. However, some English versions consider that 3:1a is the final statement in the previous section and so attach it to the end of chapter 2 (REB, NJB, NRSV). You may want to follow whatever the national language version in your area does here.

Paragraph 3:7–11

Paul was continuing to write against the Judaizers. In the last paragraph he listed all the things that he used to be proud of (3:5–6). In this paragraph (3:7–9) he said that he now considered all these things to be useless. Nothing mattered to him besides knowing Jesus Christ better.

3:7a

But whatever was gain to me

¶ But the things I formerly considered to be so valuable,
¶ But the things I formerly depended on for God to save me,
¶ But the things that previously made me proud as a Jew,

whatever was gain to me: Paul was referring mainly to the things he had mentioned in 3:5–6. These were things that he could be proud of as a person and as a Jew. But in his relation to Jesus Christ, these things did not make him proud. They did not help him to know Jesus Christ better.

gain: This term was used in business transactions to refer to financial gain. But Paul was using the term as a metaphor to mean “advantage” in general. In some languages it may be necessary to drop the metaphor and translate this meaning. Some ways to do this are:

the things for which I thought God accepted me

everything I mistakenly thought I could trust in so that God would save me

3:7b

I count as loss for the sake of Christ.

I now consider as worthless because of my relationship to Christ.
I rejected those things because they have no value as far as my relationship to Christ is concerned.

I count as loss for the sake of Christ: After he came to know Jesus Christ, Paul thought about the things he was formerly proud of in a new way. He realized that they were worthless in comparison to knowing Christ. And he chose to count them as without value so that he could belong to Christ.

I count: The Greek verb form here could be translated as:

I have come to realize

I have come to regard [them]

loss: Like “gain” in 3:7a, loss was a term used in business transactions. It referred to financial loss. Paul was using the term as a metaphor to refer to the uselessness of his worldly advantages. There are two possible ways to translate this Greek word:

something that does not help, that is worthless or without value. In the context of 3:7b, you could translate this as:
these things did not help me to know Christ (GW, NLT, CEV, NCV, REB)
something that harms, hinders or prevents something from happening (NET). This would mean that the things Paul used to be proud of actually hindered him from knowing Christ. In the context of 3:7b, you could translate this as:
these things hindered me from knowing Christ

The immediate context (in particular 3:8) strongly supports interpretation (1). It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

for the sake of: The Greek preposition that the BSB translates as for the sake of occurs three times in 3:7 and 3:8. It could also be translated as:

because of

on account of

General Comment on 3:7

Two versions give additional ideas for translation:

But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. (CEV)

But because of Christ, I have come to consider all these advantages I had as disadvantages. (JB)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

ἅτινα ἦν μοι κέρδη, ταῦτα ἥγημαι διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ζημίαν

which_‹things› was (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά ἅτινα ἦν μοί κέρδη ταῦτα ἥγημαι διά τόν Χριστόν ζημίαν)

This entire verse is Paul’s response to the seven things he listed in [3:5–6](../03/05.md), which he once considered to be spiritually and religiously profitable to himself. In this verse Paul contrasts his former way of viewing things when he was a Pharisee with his new way of viewing things now that he believes in Christ.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἅτινα ἦν μοι κέρδη, ταῦτα ἥγημαι διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ζημίαν

which_‹things› was (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά ἅτινα ἦν μοί κέρδη ταῦτα ἥγημαι διά τόν Χριστόν ζημίαν)

In the original language in which Paul wrote this letter, the words gains and loss were common business terms used in accounting to describe things a business person determined to be either profitable or unprofitable. Paul is using these two terms metaphorically to portray the things he considers spiritually profitable and unprofitable. If your language has similar business or accounting terms that would be natural to use in this context, consider using them here. Alternate translation: [Whatever things I formerly counted as gains, these things I now count as loss for the sake of Christ] or [Whatever things I formerly accounted as gains, these things I now account as loss for the sake of Christ]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἅτινα ἦν μοι κέρδη

which_‹things› was (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά ἅτινα ἦν μοί κέρδη ταῦτα ἥγημαι διά τόν Χριστόν ζημίαν)

The phrase Whatever things were gains for me refers specifically to the list of seven things that Paul has just listed in [3:5–6](../03/05.md) and to anything else in which he would have put confidence before he believed in Christ. Alternate translation: [Whatever things I formerly considered profitable]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἅτινα ἦν μοι κέρδη

which_‹things› was (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά ἅτινα ἦν μοί κέρδη ταῦτα ἥγημαι διά τόν Χριστόν ζημίαν)

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of gains, you can express the idea behind the abstract noun gains by using an adjective such as profitable, or you can express it in some other way. Alternate translation: [Whatever things were profitable for me]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ταῦτα ἥγημαι διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ζημίαν

these ˱I˲_˓have˒_considered (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά ἅτινα ἦν μοί κέρδη ταῦτα ἥγημαι διά τόν Χριστόν ζημίαν)

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of loss, you can express the idea behind the abstract noun loss by using a verbal phrase such as “worth losing”. Alternate translation: [I judge these things worth losing for the sake of Christ]

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

1. OET-LV words
2. OET-RV words
3. Strongs
4. Greek word
5. Greek lemma
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. But
2. -
3. 2350
4. S
5. alla
6. C-·······
7. but
8. but
9. S
10. Y64
11. 131853
1. which things
2. which
3. 37480
5. hostis
6. R-····NNP
7. which ‹things›
8. which ‹things›
9. -
10. Y64; F131859
11. 131854
1. was
2. -
3. 15100
5. eimi
6. V-IIA3··S
7. was
8. was
9. -
10. Y64
11. 131855
1. to me
2. -
3. 14730
5. egō
6. R-···1D·S
7. ˱to˲ me
8. ˱to˲ me
9. -
10. Y64
11. 131856
1. gain
2. -
3. 27710
5. kerdos
6. N-····NNP
7. gain
8. gain
9. -
10. Y64
11. 131858
1. these
2. -
3. 37780
5. houtos
6. R-····ANP
7. these
8. these
9. -
10. Y64; R131854
11. 131859
1. I have considered
2. -
3. 22330
5. hēgeomai
6. V-IEM1··S
7. ˱I˲ ˓have˒ considered
8. ˱I˲ ˓have˒ considered
9. -
10. Y64; R130717; Person=Paul
11. 131860
1. because of
2. because
3. 12230
5. dia
6. P-·······
7. because_of
8. because_of
9. -
10. Y64
11. 131861
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····AMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y64
11. 131862
1. chosen one messiah
2. Messiah
3. 55470
4. WN
5. χristos
6. N-····AMS
7. chosen_one/messiah
8. Messiah
9. WN
10. Y64; Person=Jesus
11. 131863
1. loss
2. -
3. 22090
5. zēmia
6. N-····AFS
7. loss
8. loss
9. -
10. Y64
11. 131864

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 3:7

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

Section 3:1–4:1: The Philippians should follow Paul’s example and trust Christ to make them righteous

Paragraph 3:7–11

3:7a

3:7b

General Comment on 3:7

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