Chapter
1 2 3 4
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Philippians 4:1
ESV Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
NIV Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
NASB Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
CSB So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.
NLT Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work.
KJV Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
NKJV Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.

What does Philippians 4:1 mean?

Chapter and verse divisions were not part of the original biblical writings. These were added much later, to make it easier to find specific passages in the text. This verse is an example of the quirks which modern chapters and verses can create. Philippians 4:1 actually concludes the thoughts from the last verses of chapter 3.

Here, Paul offers several encouragements to his readers. First, he notes his love for them. Love is a topic mentioned many times in this letter (Philippians 1:9, 16; 2:1, 2; 4:8). Second, Paul mentions his sincere desire to visit them. He had lived among them in the past, and missed them now while he was under house arrest in Rome. Third, he calls them "my joy," another theme common in this message (Philippians 1:4, 25; 2:2, 29). Fourth, Paul refers to the Philippian believers as his "crown." These believers were a reward and blessing to Paul.

He concludes this section from chapter 3 by teaching them to "stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved." He did not want to see his friends fall away from faithful service to Christ. Paul often taught his readers to "stand firm" (1 Corinthians 16:13; 2 Corinthians 1:24; Galatians 5:1; Ephesians 6:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:15). His goal was for them to stay strong and continue to grow, even during difficult times.
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