Filipi 1:21-23

1:21 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,

[1:22]  ¹ tn Grk “flesh.”

[1:22]  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).

[1:22]  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).

[1:22]  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.

[1:23]  ⁴ tn Grk “I am hard-pressed between the two.” Cf. L&N 30.18.