and always do it with joy in every entreaty I make for all of you,

for your cooperation in spreading the good news, from the first day you heard it until now.

For I am certain of this very thing, that He who began the good work in you will go on until the day of Jesus Christ to complete it.

And I have a right to think this way about you, because I always have you in my heart, whether shut up in prison or out defending and vindicating the good news, for you are sharers with me of God's favor.

For God is my witness how I never stop yearning for all of you with the affection Christ Jesus inspires.

the latter, indeed, are doing so from love to me, for they know that I am providentially put here to defend the good news;

the former are preaching Christ from the motive of rivalry, not in sincerity, supposing that this is making it harder for me to bear my imprisonment.

for I know that through your prayers and a bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my spiritual welfare,

For to me living means Christ and dying brings gain.

I am hesitating between two desires, for I long to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far, far better,

And yet for your sakes it is very necessary for me to stay on here.

which will result in your joy; so that, through union with Christ Jesus, you may have more than sufficient ground for boasting about me, through my being with you again.

Only you must practice living lives that are worthy of the good news, so that whether I come and see you or stay away, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, and that with one purpose you are continuing to cooperate in the fight for faith in the good news.

Never in the slightest degree be frightened by your opponents, for such fearlessness will be strong evidence to them of their impending destruction, but to you a sure sign, and that from God, of your salvation.

For it has been graciously granted to you for Christ's sake, not only to trust in Him but also to suffer for Him,

Stop looking after your own interests only but practice looking out for the interests of others too.

for it is God Himself who is at work in you to help you desire it as well as do it.

to hold up the message of life. That will give me ground for boasting on the day of Christ, because neither my career nor my labor has been a failure.

For I have no one else with a heart like his who would take such genuine interest in you,

for most people are looking out for their own interests, not for the interests of Jesus Christ.

for he has been longing to see you and has been homesick because you have heard that he was sick.

For he was so sick that he was on the point of dying, but God took pity on him, and not only on him but on me too, to keep me from having one sorrow after another.

because he came near dying for the sake of the Lord's work and risked his life to make up for your lack of opportunity to minister to me.

Look out for those dogs, those mischief-makers, those self-mutilators!

For we are the true circumcision, who by the Spirit of God worship Him, who take pride in Christ Jesus only, and do not rely on outward privileges,

though I too might rely on these. If anyone thinks that he can rely on outward privileges, far more might I do so:

But for Christ's sake I have counted all that was gain to me as loss.

Yes, indeed, I certainly do count everything as loss compared with the priceless privilege of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have lost everything, and value it all as mere refuse, in order to gain Christ

It is not a fact that I have already secured it or already reached perfection, but I am pressing on to see if I can capture it, the ideal for which I was captured by Christ Jesus.

Brothers, I do not think that I have captured it yet, but here is my one aspiration, so forgetting what is behind me and reaching out for what is ahead of me,

For there are many, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you in tears, who practice living as the enemies of the cross of Christ.

But we are citizens of the republic in heaven, from which we are eagerly waiting for our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Not that I refer to any personal want, for I have learned to be contented in whatever circumstances I am.

Even while I was at Thessalonica you sent money more than once for my needs.