Philippians 1:7

1:7 For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace together with me.

Philippians 1:13-14

1:13 The whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ, 1:14 and most of the brothers and sisters, having confidence in the Lord 10  because of my imprisonment, now more than ever 11  dare to speak the word 12  fearlessly.


tn Grk “Just as.” The sense here is probably, “So I give thanks (v. 3) just as it is right for me…”

tn Or possibly “because you have me in your heart.”

tn Grk “in my bonds.” The meaning “imprisonment” derives from a figurative extension of the literal meaning (“bonds,” “fetters,” “chains”), L&N 37.115.

tn The word “God’s” is supplied from the context (v. 2) to clarify the meaning.

tn Grk “so that the whole imperial guard.” The ὥστε (Jwste) clause that begins v. 13 indicates two results of the spread of the gospel: Outsiders know why Paul is imprisoned (v. 13) and believers are emboldened by his imprisonment (v. 14).

sn The whole imperial guard (Grk “praetorium”) can refer to the elite troops stationed in Rome or the headquarters of administrators in the provinces (cf. Matt 27:27; Mark 15:16; John 18:28, 33; 19:9; Acts 23:35). In either case a metonymy is involved, with the place (the praetorium) put for those (soldiers or government officials) who were connected with it or stationed in it.

tn Grk “it has become known by the whole imperial guard and all the rest.”

tn Grk “my bonds [are].”

tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

10 tn Or “most of the brothers and sisters in the Lord, having confidence.”

11 tn Grk “even more so.”

12 tc A number of significant mss have “of God” after “word.” Although τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) is amply supported in the Alexandrian and Western texts (א A B [D*] P Ψ 048vid 075 0278 33 81 1175 al lat co), the omission is difficult to explain as either an intentional deletion or unintentional oversight. To be sure, the pedigree of the witnesses is not nearly as great for the shorter reading (Ì46 D2 1739 1881 Ï), but it explains well the rise of the other reading. Further, it explains the rise of κυρίου (kuriou, “of the Lord”), the reading of F and G (for if these mss had followed a Vorlage with τοῦ θεοῦ, κυρίου would not have been expected). Further, τοῦ θεοῦ is in different locations among the mss; such dislocations are usually signs of scribal additions to the text. Thus, the Byzantine text and a few other witnesses here have the superior reading, and it should be accepted as the original.