1  Since Christ encourages us, since he loves us and comforts us, since God’s Spirit fellowships with us, and since Christ is very merciful [DOU] to us, 2  make me completely happy by doing the following things: Agree with one another, love one another, be closely united with one another, and live harmoniously with one another [DOU]. 3  Never try to selfishly make yourselves more important than others nor boast about what you are doing. Instead, be humble, and in particular, honor one another more than you honor yourselves. 4  Each one of you should not only be concerned about your own affairs. Instead, each of you should also be concerned ◄that you help/about the needs of► one another.

5  You should think/act just like Christ Jesus thought/acted. 6  Although he has the same nature as God has, he did not insist on keeping all the privileges of being equal with God. 7  Instead, he willingly gave up divine privileges. Specifically, he became a human being and took the attitude of a servant. When he had become a human being, 8  he humbled himself even more. Specifically, he obeyed God even to the extent of being willing to die. He was even willing to be nailed to a cross, to die as though he were a criminal. 9  As a result, God promoted him to a rank that is above every other rank. 10  God did that in order that every being [SYN] in heaven and on earth and under the earth should worship [MTY] Jesus, 11  and in order that every person [SYN] should declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. As a result of everyone doing that, they will honor God, his Father.

12  My dear friends, as you consider this, since you have always obeyed God, each of you should very reverentially [DOU] try to do those things that are proper for people whom God has saved. You should do those things not only when I am with you. Instead, you should try even more to do them now when I am not with you. 13  You are able to do these things, since God himself causes you to desire to do what he wants you to do, and he also enables you to do what he wants you to do.

14  Do everything God or your leaders ask you to do. Never complain about what they want you to do, or argue with them. 15  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]. 16  Tell them how to have eternal life. I ask that you do that in order that on the day Christ returns I may be able to rejoice [MTY], that I did not labor [DOU] so hard among you in vain.

17  Perhaps the Roman authorities will execute me, and my blood will pour out [MET] as the wine pours out when the priest offers it to God [MET]. For your part, you believe in Christ firmly. As a result, you have given yourselves completely to God in order that you might do what he wills [MET], just like a priest offers a sacrifice completely to God [MET]. Because I dedicate myself wholly to God together with you, even if they are about to execute me, I will greatly rejoice [DOU], because I am giving myself wholly to God, and because you all are giving yourselves wholly to God. 18  Similarly, you too should rejoice because you are giving yourselves wholly to God, and you should rejoice because I am giving myself wholly to God.

19  My relationship with the Lord Jesus leads me to confidently expect that he will enable me to send Timothy to you soon, in order that his telling you the news about me will encourage you. But I also expect that his returning to me and telling me the news about you will encourage me. 20  Keep in mind that I have no one else like him who genuinely cares for you. 21  All the others whom I have considered that I might send to you are concerned only about their own matters. They are not concerned about what Jesus Christ considers important. 22  But you know that Timothy has proved that he serves the Lord and others faithfully. You know that he has served the Lord closely together with me in proclaiming to people the message about Christ as though he were [SIM] my son and I were his own father. 23  So then he is the one I confidently expect to send to you as soon as I know what will happen to me. 24  And I am confident that I will soon be released { the authorities will soon release me} so that the Lord will enable me also to come/go to you soon.

25  I have concluded that it is really necessary that I send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a fellow believer and my fellow worker, and he endures difficulties together with me [MET], just like soldiers endure difficulties together. You sent him to me in order that he might help me when I was needy [EUP]. 26  But I have concluded that I must send him back to you because he has been longing to see you all. Furthermore, he has been very distressed because he knows that you heard that he had become sick. 27  Indeed, he was so sick that he almost died. However, he did not die. Instead, God pitied him and he also pitied me, and as a result he healed him. God pitied me because he did not want me to be even more sorrowful than I already was. 28  So, I am sending him back to you as quickly as possible, in order that you may rejoice when you see him again and in order that I may be less sorrowful than I was. 29-30  Welcome him very joyfully just like believers in our Lord Jesus should welcome one another. While he was working for Christ, he was helping me in place of you because you were far away. He knew that he might die as a result of helping me, and truly he nearly did die. So honor him, and honor all those who are like him.