Philippians 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 

Ge 21:26; Ge 39:8; Ex 32:1; Ps 71:18; Isa 38:18,19; Ac 3:17; Ro 11:2; 2Co 10:3; Ga 2:20; Php 1:24; Col 2:1; 1Pe 4:2

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.