Filipi 1:19-23

1:19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance ¹  through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 1:20 My confident hope ²  is that I will in no way be ashamed ³  but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die. ⁴  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, ⁵  this will mean productive work ⁶  for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer: ⁷  1:23 I feel torn between the two, ⁸  because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,

[1:19]  ¹ tn Or “salvation.” Deliverance from prison (i.e., release) is probably what Paul has in view here, although some take this as a reference to his ultimate release from the body, i.e., dying and being with Christ (v. 23).

[1:19]  sn The phrase this will turn out for my deliverance may be an echo of Job 13:16 (LXX).

[1:20]  ² tn Grk “according to my eager expectation and hope.” The κατά (kata) phrase is taken as governing the following ὅτι (Joti) clause (“that I will not be ashamed…”); the idea could be expressed more verbally as “I confidently hope that I will not be ashamed…”

[1:20]  ³ tn Or possibly, “be intimidated, be put to shame.”

[1:20]  ⁴ tn Grk “whether by life or by death.”

[1:22]  ⁵ tn Grk “flesh.”

[1:22]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Grk “I am hard-pressed between the two.” Cf. L&N 30.18.