Discovery BoxPhilippians 1:21-24 
Context1:21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 1:22 Now if I am to go on living in the body, 1 this will mean productive work 2 for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer: 3 1:23 I feel torn between the two, 4 because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, 1:24 but it is more vital for your sake that I remain 5 in the body. 6
1 tn Grk “flesh.”
2 tn Grk “fruit of work”; the genitive ἔργου (ergou) is taken as an attributed genitive in which the head noun, καρπός (karpos), functions attributively (cf. ExSyn 89-91).
3 tn Grk “what I shall prefer.” The Greek verb αἱρέω (Jairew) could also mean “choose,” but in this context such a translation is problematic for it suggests that Paul could perhaps choose suicide (cf. L&N 30.86).
sn I don’t know what I prefer. Paul is here struggling with what would be most beneficial for both him and the church. He resolves this issue in vv. 24-25.
4 tn Grk “I am hard-pressed between the two.” Cf. L&N 30.18.
5 tn Grk “But to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.”
6 tn Grk “the flesh.”
