| 2:1 | Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit,* any affection or mercy,* |
| 2:2 | complete my joy and be of the same mind,* by having the same love, being united in spirit,* and having one purpose. |
| 2:3 | Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition* or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. |
| 2:4 | Each of you should be concerned* not only* about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.* |
| 2:5 | You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,* |
| 2:6 | *who though he existed in the form of God* did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, |
| 2:7 | but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave,* by looking like other men,* and by sharing in human nature.* |
| 2:8 | He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross! |
| 2:9 | As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, |
| 2:10 | so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth – |
| 2:11 | and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. |
| 2:12 | So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence,* |
| 2:13 | for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God. |
| 2:14 | Do everything without grumbling or arguing, |
| 2:15 | 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* |
| 2:16 | by holding on to* the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. |
| 2:17 | But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice together with all of you. |
| 2:18 | And in the same way you also should be glad and rejoice together with me. |
| 2:19 | Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you. |
| 2:20 | For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you.* |
| 2:21 | Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ. |
| 2:22 | But you know his qualifications, that like a son working with his father, he served with me in advancing the gospel. |
| 2:23 | So I hope to send him as soon as I know more about my situation, |
| 2:24 | though I am confident in the Lord that I too will be coming to see you* soon. |
| 2:25 | But for now* I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother,* coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger* and minister* to me in my need.* |
| 2:26 | Indeed, he greatly missed all of you and was distressed because you heard that he had been ill. |
| 2:27 | In fact he became so ill that he nearly died.* But God showed mercy to him – and not to him only, but also to me – so that I would not have grief on top of grief. |
| 2:28 | Therefore I am all the more eager to send him,* so that when you see him again you can rejoice* and I can be free from anxiety. |
| 2:29 | So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, |
| 2:30 | since it was because of the work of Christ that he almost died. He risked his life so that he could make up for your inability to serve me.* |
Philippians 2 - NET Bible [draft]
