Philippians 1

Philippians · Chapter 1

Philippians 1:21

1Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:2Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.3I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,4Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,5For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:7Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.8For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.9And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;10That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;11Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.12But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;13So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;14And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.15Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:16The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:17But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.18What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.19For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,20According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.22But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.23For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:24Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.25And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;26That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.27Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;28And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.29For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;30Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

Philippians 1:12-26For me to live is Christ

About Philippians 1Paul thanks God for the Philippians' "fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now," confident "that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it." His bonds have furthered the gospel, and whether Christ is preached "in pretence, or in truth," he rejoices. "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain," he writes, but he expects to stay for their sake, and urges them to stand fast "in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel." Philippians 1:1Philippians 1:5Philippians 1:6Philippians 1:12Philippians 1:13Philippians 1:18Philippians 1:21Philippians 1:24Philippians 1:25Philippians 1:27Philippians 1:3Philippians overview

Why this verse matters here"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Paul has "a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better." Philippians 1:21Philippians 1:23Philippians overview

Who, where and when in this chapter

Original Greek words

EnglishGreekSay itStrong'sMeaning
To me myselfἘμοὶEmoiG1473
I/we

ἐγώ (egō) ἐγώ, genitive, etc., ἐμοῦ, ἐμοί, ἐμέ (enclitic μου, μοι, με), pl. ἡμεῖς, -ῶν, -ῖν, -ᾶς, of person(s) pron. I. (a) The nom. is usually emphatic, when expressed as subjc, as in Mat.3:11, Mrk.1:8, Luk.3:16, al. But often there is no apparent emphasis, as Mat.10:16, Jhn.10:17; ἰδοὺ ἐ. (= Heb. הִנֵּנִי, cf. 1Ki.3:8), Act.9:10; ἐ. (like Heb. אֲנִי), I am, Jhn.1:23 (LXX), Act.7:32 (LXX). …

forγὰρgarG1063
for

γάρ (gar) γάρ, co-ordinating particle, contr. of γε ἄρα, verily then, hence, in truth, indeed, yea, then, why, and when giving a reason or explanation, for, the usage in NT being in general accord with that of cl.; 1. explicative and epexegetic: Mat.4:18 19:12, Mrk.1:16 5:42 16:4, Luk.11:3o, Rom.7:1, 1Co.16:5, al. 2. Conclusive, in questions, answers and exclamations: Mat.9:5 27:23, Luk.9:25 22:27, Jhn.9:30, Act.8:31 16:37 19:35, Rom.15:26, 1Co.9:10, Php.1:18 (Ellic., in l.), 1Th.2:20, al. …

to liveζῆνzēnG2198
to live

ζάω (zaō) ζάω, -ῶ, [in LXX chiefly for חיה (most frequently ptcp., ζῶν, inf., ζῆν, for חַי ;] 1. prop., to live, be alive (see Syn., see word βίος; in cl. usually of animal life, but sometimes of plants, as Arist., Eth. N, i, 7, 12): Act.20:12, Rom.7:1-3, 1Co.7:39, Rev.19:20, al.; ἐν αὐτῷ ζῶμεν, Act.17:28; ἐμοὶ τὸ ζῆν Χριστός, Php.1:21; διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν (M, Pr., 215, 249), Heb.2:15; ὃ δὲ νῦν ζῶ ἐν σαρκί, Gal.2:20; ζῇ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός, Gal.2:20; (ὁ) ζῶν, of God (אֵל חַי and cognate phrases, Jos.3:10, Hos.2:1 (1:10), Isa.37:4, al.; see DCG, ii, 39a), Mat.16:16, Jhn.6:57, Rom.9:26, 1Th.1:9, Heb.3:12, Re …

[is] ChristΧριστὸςChristosG5547
Christ

Χριστός (Christos) χριστός (Χρ-), -ή, -όν (χρίω), [in LXX for מָשִׁיחַ and cogn. forms ;] 1. 1. as adj., (a) of things, anointing, to be used as ointment (Æsch., Eur., al.; τ. ἔλαιον τὸ χ., Lev.21:10); (b) of persons, anointed (ὁ ἰερεὺς ὁ χ., Lev.4:5; οἱ χ. ἰευρεῖς, 2Ma.1:10): ὁ χ. τοῦ κυρίου or Θεοῦ (1Ki.2:10, Psa.2:2, al.), of the Messiah (Aram., מְשִׁיחָא; cf. Dalman, Words, 289 ff.), Luk.2:11, 26 Jhn.1:41, Act.2:36 4:26, al. …

andκαὶkaiG2532
and

καί (kai) καί, conj., and I. Copulative. 1. Connecting single words; (a) in general: Mat.2:18, 16:1, Mrk.2:15, Luk.8:15, Heb.1:1, al. mult.; repeated before each of the terms in a series, Mat.23:23, Luk.14:21, Rom.7:12, 9:4, al. (b) connecting numerals (WM, §37, 4): Jhn.2:20, Act.13:20; (with) joining terms which are not mutually exclusive, as the part with the whole: Mat.8:33, 26:59, Mrk.16:17, Act.5:29, al. 2. Connecting clauses and sentences: Mat.3:12, Act.5:21, al. mult.; esp. …

to dieἀποθανεῖνapothaneinG0599
to die

ἀποθνήσκω (apothnēskō) ἀπο-θνῄσκω, [in LXX chiefly for מוּת ;] to die: of natural death, Mrk.5:35, al.; of violent death (pass. of ἀποκτείνω), esp. of Christ, Mat.26:35, Jhn.12:33, Heb.10:28, al.; of spiritual death, Jhn.6:50, Rom.8:13, al.; with dative ref., Rom.6:2, 10 14:7, 8, Gal.2:19; accusative, ὅ, Rom.6:10; before ἐν, Mat.8:32, Jhn.8:21, 24 1Co.15:22, Heb.11:37, Rev.14:13; before ὑπέρ, περί, Jhn.11:50, 51 18:14, Rom.5:6-8 14:15, 1Co.15:3, 2Co.5:15, 1Th.5:10, 1Pe.3:18; ἀπό, Col.2:20; ἐκ, Rev.8:11; figuratively, 1Co.15:31 (cf. συν-αποθνήσκω, and V. Milligan, NTD, 258f.; DCG, i, 791b; Cremer, 286; MM, see word …

[is] gain.κέρδος.kerdosG2771
gain

κέρδος (kerdos) κέρδος, -εος (-ους), τό [in Aq.: Eze.27:24; Sm.: Psa.30:10, al. ;] gain: Php.1:21 3:7, Tit.1:11.† (AS)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.