PHP 2:15 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT so that you might become blameless and pure, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

UST Behave like that in order that you may be completely faultless, children of God, who keep yourselves from evil as you live among the wicked people of this world. Then, as you live among them, you will stand out brightly against the darkness of sin.

BSB so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation,[fn] in which you shine as lights in [the] world

BLB so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God unblemished in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

AICNT so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God blameless in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

OEB so as to prove yourselves blameless and innocent – faultless children of God, in the midst of an evil-disposed and perverse generation, in which you are seen shining like stars in a dark world,

WEBBE that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, amongst whom you are seen as lights in the world,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world

LSV that you may become blameless and pure children of God, unblemished in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as luminaries in the world,

FBV so that you'll be sincere, innocent of any wrong. Be God's blameless children living in the middle of a dishonest and corrupt people.[fn] Shine among them as lights to the world,

2:15 See Deuteronomy 32:5.

TCNT so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world

T4T Behave like that in order that you may be completely faultless [DOU] and may be perfect children of God [DOU] while you live in the midst of people who are wicked and do very wicked things [DOU]. As you live among them, show them clearly [MET] the way they ought to behave, just like the sun, moon, and stars show the road clearly to us [SIM].

LEB in order that you may become blameless and innocent, children of God without fault[fn] in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine as stars in the world,[fn]

2:15 Or “blameless”

2:15 Or possibly “in the universe”

BBE So that you may be holy and gentle, children of God without sin in a twisted and foolish generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,

Moff so as to be blameless and innocent, faultless children of God in a crooked and perverse generation where you shine like stars in a dark world;

Wymth so that you may always prove yourselves to be blameless and spotless—irreproachable children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as heavenly lights in the world,

ASV that ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world,

DRA That you may be blameless, and sincere children of God, without reproof, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; among whom you shine as lights in the world.

YLT that ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God, unblemished in the midst of a generation crooked and perverse, among whom ye do appear as luminaries in the world,

Drby that ye may be harmless and simple, irreproachable children of [fn]God in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation; among whom ye appear as lights in [the] world,

2.15 Elohim

RV that ye may be blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world,
(that ye/you_all may be blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye/you_all are seen as lights in the world, )

SLT That ye be complete and pure, children of God, blameless in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom ye appear as luminaries in the world;

Wbstr That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

KJB-1769 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
(That ye/you_all may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye/you_all shine as lights in the world; )

KJB-1611 That yee may bee blamelesse and [fn]harmelesse, the sonnes of God, without rebuke, in the middes of a crooked and peruerse nation, among whom [fn]ye shine as lights in the world:
(That ye/you_all may be blameless and harmelesse, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye/you_all shine as lights in the world:)

2:15 Or, syncere.

2:15 Or, shine ye

Bshps That ye may be blamelesse and pure, the sonnes of God, without rebuke in the myddes of a croked and peruerse nation, among who shyne ye as lightes in the worlde,
(That ye/you_all may be blameless and pure, the sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among who shine ye/you_all as lights in the world,)

Gnva That ye may be blamelesse, and pure, and the sonnes of God without rebuke in the middes of a naughtie and crooked nation, among whom yee shine as lights in the world,
(That ye/you_all may be blameless, and pure, and the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a naught/nothingie and crooked nation, among whom ye/you_all shine as lights in the world, )

Cvdl that ye maye be fautles and pure, and the childre of God without rebuke, in the myddes of ye croked and peruerse nacion, amonge whom se that ye shyne as lightes in the worlde,
(that ye/you_all may be fautles and pure, and the children of God without rebuke, in the midst of ye/you_all crooked and perverse nation, among whom see that ye/you_all shine as lights in the world,)

TNT that ye maye be fautelesse and pure and the sonnes of God with out rebuke in the middes of a croked and a perverse nacion amonge which se that ye shyne as lightes in the worlde
(that ye/you_all may be fautelesse and pure and the sons of God with out rebuke in the midst of a crooked and a perverse nation among which see that ye/you_all shine as lights in the world )

Wycl that ye be with out playnt, and symple as the sones of God, with out repreef, in the myddil of a schrewid nacioun and a weiward; among whiche ye schynen as yyueris of liyt in the world.
(that ye/you_all be with out playnt, and simple as the sons of God, with out repreef, in the middle of a shrewd nation and a wayward; among which ye/you_all shinen as givers of light in the world.)

Luth auf daß ihr seid ohne Tadel und lauter und Gottes Kinder, unsträflich mitten unter dem unschlachtigen und verkehrten Geschlecht, unter welchem ihr scheinet als Lichter in der Welt
(on/in/to that you(pl)/their/her are without Tadel and louder and God’s children, blameless midway/in_the_middle under to_him unschlachtigen and wrong descendant, under which_one you(pl)/their/her seems as light(n)r in the/of_the world)

ClVg ut sitis sine querela, et simplices filii Dei, sine reprehensione in medio nationis pravæ et perversæ: inter quos lucetis sicut luminaria in mundo,[fn]
(as thirsts without querela, and simple children of_God, without reprehensione in/into/on in_the_middle nationis wicked and perversæ: between which shinesis like lights in/into/on to_the_world, )

2.15 Nationis pravæ, etc. Id est malorum, qui rectum ordinem depravant et pervertunt. Qui dicuntur natio, quia non sunt renati ex aqua et Spiritu sancto. Sicut luminaria. Bene sanctos luminaribus comparat. Sicut enim stellas cœli non exstinguit nox, sic mentes fidelium adhærentes cœlo sacræ Scripturæ non obscurat mundana iniquitas.

2.15 Nationis wicked, etc. That it_is of_evil, who/which rightness/accuracy order depravant and pervertunt. Who are_said natio, because not/no are renati from water and By_Spirit holy. Like lights. Well saints luminaribus compares. Like because stars heavens not/no exstinguit night/darkness, so minds faithful adhering sky sacræ Scriptures not/no darkt cleanna iniquity.

UGNT ἵνα γένησθε ἄμεμπτοι καὶ ἀκέραιοι, τέκνα Θεοῦ ἄμωμα μέσον γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης, ἐν οἷς φαίνεσθε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ,
(hina genaʸsthe amemptoi kai akeraioi, tekna Theou amōma meson geneas skolias kai diestrammenaʸs, en hois fainesthe hōs fōstaʸres en kosmōi,)

SBL-GNT ἵνα γένησθε ἄμεμπτοι καὶ ἀκέραιοι, τέκνα θεοῦ ⸂ἄμωμα μέσον⸃ γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης, ἐν οἷς φαίνεσθε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ
(hina genaʸsthe amemptoi kai akeraioi, tekna theou ⸂amōma meson⸃ geneas skolias kai diestrammenaʸs, en hois fainesthe hōs fōstaʸres en kosmōi)

RP-GNT ἵνα γένησθε ἄμεμπτοι καὶ ἀκέραιοι, τέκνα θεοῦ ἀμώμητα ἐν μέσῳ γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης, ἐν οἷς φαίνεσθε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ,
(hina genaʸsthe amemptoi kai akeraioi, tekna theou amōmaʸta en mesōi geneas skolias kai diestrammenaʸs, en hois fainesthe hōs fōstaʸres en kosmōi,)

TC-GNT ἵνα γένησθε ἄμεμπτοι καὶ ἀκέραιοι, τέκνα Θεοῦ [fn]ἀμώμητα ἐν μέσῳ γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης, ἐν οἷς φαίνεσθε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ,
(hina genaʸsthe amemptoi kai akeraioi, tekna Theou amōmaʸta en mesōi geneas skolias kai diestrammenaʸs, en hois fainesthe hōs fōstaʸres en kosmōi, )

2:15 αμωμητα εν μεσω ¦ αμωμα μεσον CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN 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.

2:15a

so that you may be blameless and pure,

so that no one can accuse you of doing evil, and so that you will become righteous.
in order that you may become so good that no one can say you have done wrong.

so that: The Philippians should not complain and argue. This was in order that they could become blameless. 2:15 gives the purpose for 2:14.

blameless: The Greek word that the BSB translates as blameless means to behave in such a way that a person cannot be criticized for doing wrong. Paul said that the Philippians should behave in such a way that people could not call them evildoers. A common English expression for blameless is “no one can find fault with you.” Some people might still try to say the Philippian believers had done wrong, but if the believers were blameless, no one could criticize them honestly or justly.

pure: The Greek word that the BSB translates as pure means “sincere, upright.” It means that a person does not intend to do evil.

General Comment on 2:15a

The words “blameless” and “pure” mean almost the same thing and are intended to strengthen each other. If you do not have two words similar in meaning in your language, then use one word or phrase and add extra emphasis. For example:

truly righteous

2:15b

children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation,

That is, you will be God’s children having done nothing wrong in the midst of people who are very evil and who habitually do what is bad.
That is, as God’s children, you may live in a way that is completely good among people who are completely evil.

without fault: The Greek literally means “without blemish.” This term was used to describe the sort of animals the priests were commanded to offer as sacrifices to God in the temple in Jerusalem. These animals could not have anything wrong with them or any ugly marks on them. Here the term is used figuratively and means for a person to have nothing morally wrong with him.

The Greek words that the BSB translates as without fault here and “blameless” in 2:15a are different, but they have almost exactly the same meaning. Some translators have omitted the phrase without fault because it is awkward to repeat the same idea. But it is better to try to show Paul’s emphasis on the fact that God’s children should be morally upright. One way to do this is to translate the phrase “children of God without fault” using a word such as “perfect”:

God’s perfect children (GNT)

perfect children of God (JB)

crooked and perverse generation: This refers to people who did evil continually. The two words crooked and perverse mean basically the same thing. Together they can mean “very evil.” Paul may have quoted this whole phrase from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 32:5). Here he used it to refer to the non-Christians around the Philippian believers.

crooked: The Greek word that the BSB translates as crooked literally means “twisted, bent.” Here it is used figuratively to refer to people who are crooked, unjust, or dishonest in their behavior.

perverse: This is very similar in meaning to “crooked.” The Greek word that the BSB translates as perverse literally means “distorted.” It is used figuratively to mean “perverted, corrupt.” Here it refers to people who are evil, those who are morally corrupt.

generation: The Greek word that the BSB translates as generation normally refers to people who are alive at the same time. It can also refer to a group of people who all have the same character. In 2:15b generation refers particularly to those who did not believe or obey the good news.

2:15c

in which you shine as lights in the world

You must behave well among them like lights shining in a dark world.
Behave among those people in a way that contrasts with their evil behavior like stars that shine in the dark sky.

in which you shine as lights in the world: This simile compares Christian believers to stars shining in the dark sky at night. They should be good people living for God in a world of evil people. This is a figure of speech comparing good behavior to light and evil to darkness. Jesus also used this comparison (Matthew 5:14–16).

If this is not a common way of speaking in your language, then you may need to make the points of comparison clear. Or you may need to avoid the metaphor altogether. For example:

The way you act should be very different from the way evil people act.

shine: The word shine means “give light.” This is a metaphor for Christians displaying God’s truth and goodness by the way they behave. The form of the verb here can be understood in two ways:

It is a command. Paul was telling the Philippian believers how they were to behave, that is, they were to “shine like stars”. (GNT, NLT, CEV)
It is a statement. It refers to what the Philippians were already doing. For example:
You shine among them like stars (BSB, RSV, NIV, NET, REB, GW, NCV)

The context, especially 2:16b, seems to imply a command rather than simply a statement. However, if you wish to follow interpretation (2), you could translate it as:

You give/shed light among them like stars give light in the sky.

lights: The Greek word can refer to

“heavenly lights, bodies, stars”; (NIV, GNT, NCV, GW, REB, NJB)
“lights” in general or “objects that shine.” This could include lamps and beacons as well as the sun and the moon and the stars. (BSB, NET, RSV, CEV, NASB)

It is recommended that you follow the majority of translations and commentaries and translate this as “stars.”

world: The Greek word kosmos means “the physical universe” or “the world [of people].” If you follow interpretation (1) above and use “stars” rather than “lights,” you should translate this as referring to the physical universe.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

ἄμεμπτοι καὶ ἀκέραιοι

blameless (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἵνα γένησθε ἄμεμπτοι καί ἀκέραιοι τέκνα Θεοῦ ἄμωμα μέσον γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καί διεστραμμένης ἐν οἷς φαίνεσθε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ)

The words blameless and pure are very similar in meaning and are used together to emphasize the idea of living a morally pure life. You may translate these words individually, as the ULT does, or combine them together into one idea and express their meaning together as a single expression. Consider what would be most natural in your language. Alternate translation: [completely innocent]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

τέκνα Θεοῦ

children ˱of˲_God

The phrase children of God is a metaphorical way of describing people who have entered into a father-child relationship with God by putting their faith and trust in Jesus. Here, children does not refer to those who are young, but only to the relationship that people have at any age to their father. If you translate children using a literal term, choose a word that can refer to people of any age in relation to their fathers. Alternate translation: [God’s spiritual offspring] or [spiritual children of God]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἄμωμα

blameless

The phrase without blemish means being free from flaws or defects. Here the phrase without blemish specifically means being free from moral flaws or corruption. Consider using an equivalent phrase from your language that would be understood in this context, or use plain language. Alternate translation: [who abstain from all evil]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἐν οἷς φαίνεσθε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ

among whom ˱you_all˲_˓are˒_shining as lights in ˓the˒_world

Paul is describing people by associating them with the world in which they live. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or use plain language. Alternate translation: [among whom you shine as lights before the people in the world]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

φαίνεσθε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ

˱you_all˲_˓are˒_shining as lights in ˓the˒_world

The word lights represents believers who are living in a righteous way that shows other people what is true and good. “Light” is often used metaphorically in the Bible to represent truth and the righteous living that aligns with truth. In the Bible, light is often contrasted with darkness, which represents falsehood and living according to it. To shine as lights in the world means to live in a way that helps people see God’s truth and character. You can retain this metaphor or express this using plain language. Alternate translation: [you will be examples of God’s goodness and truth in the world]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

μέσον γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης

˱in˲_˓the˒_midst ˱of˲_˓a˒_generation crooked (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἵνα γένησθε ἄμεμπτοι καί ἀκέραιοι τέκνα Θεοῦ ἄμωμα μέσον γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καί διεστραμμένης ἐν οἷς φαίνεσθε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ)