Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Focus on Philippians 1:9-11

In May, I did a little post on Philippians 4:4-7. I was studying Philippians at the time, and I had discovered just how many differences there are--in word choices, in phrases--between translations. More than you might expect from casually reading other books of the Bible. I happened to read in the New English Bible and the Revised English Bible...this time.

Some of the differences are subtle, others jump out--at least to me they do! After reading them all, do any stand out to you? Which is the easiest to understand? Which is the one that resonates most with you? Are there any that you don't like?

And this is my prayer, that your love may grow ever richer in knowledge and insight of every kind, enabling you to learn by experience what things really matter. Then on the day of Christ you will be flawless and without blame, yielding the full harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11, REB)
And this is my prayer, that your love may grow ever richer and richer in knowledge and insight of every kind, and may thus bring you the gift of true discrimination. Then on the Day of Christ you will be flawless and without blame, reaping the full harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11, NEB)
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11, ESV)
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11, NASB)
And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can determine what really matters and be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11, HCSB)
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11, NKJV)
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11, NIV)
I pray that your love will grow more and more. And let it be based on knowledge and understanding. Then you will be able to know what is best. You will be pure and without blame until the day Christ returns. You will be filled with the fruit of right living produced by Jesus Christ. All of those things bring glory and praise to God. (Philippians 1:9-11, NIRV)
Highlights from other translations...
"keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgment, so that you will be able to choose what is best" (Good News Translation)
"For I want you to understand what really matters...May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation--the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ..." (New Living Translation)
"might become even more and more rich with knowledge and all kinds of insight..." (Common English Bible)
"that you will see the difference between good and bad and will choose the good;" (New Century Version)
"...that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head..." (Message)
"...that you may have a sense of what is vital, and may be men of transparent character and blameless life, in preparation for the Day of Christ." (New Testament, American Translation, Edgar Goodspeed, 1923)
"... accompanied by clear knowledge and keen perception, for testing things that differ, so that you may be men of transparent character..." (New Testament in Modern Speech, Weymouth New Testament, Richard Weymouth, 1912)
"...in order that you may distinguish those things that differ; that you may be pure and without offence..." (Translation of the New Testament from the Original Greek, William Godbey, 1902)
"...that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best..." (NRSV)
"...so that you may approve what is superior, in order that you may be sincere..." (Lexham English Bible)
"...I want you to be able always to recognize the highest and the best..." (J.B. Phillips New Testament)
"My prayer for you is that you will overflow more and more with love for others, and at the same time keep on growing in spiritual knowledge and insight, for I want you always to see clearly the difference between right and wrong, and to be inwardly clean, no one being able to criticize you from now until our Lord returns. May you always be doing those good, kind things which show that you are a child of God, for this will bring much praise and glory to the Lord. (Philippians 1:9-11, Living Bible)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

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