Bible in Basic English
If then there is any comfort in Christ, any help given by love, any uniting of hearts in the Spirit, any loving mercies and pity,
Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in harmony and of one mind;
Doing nothing through envy or through pride, but with low thoughts of self let everyone take others to be better than himself;
Not looking everyone to his private good, but keeping in mind the things of others.
Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus,
To whom, though himself in the form of God, it did not seem that to take for oneself was to be like God;
But he made himself as nothing, taking the form of a servant, being made like men;
And being seen in form as a man, he took the lowest place, and let himself be put to death, even the death of the cross.
For this reason God has put him in the highest place and has given to him the name which is greater than every name;
So that at the name of Jesus every knee may be bent, of those in heaven and those on earth and those in the underworld,
And that every tongue may give witness that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So then, my loved ones, as you have at all times done what I say, not only when I am present, but now much more when I am not with you, give yourselves to working out your salvation with fear in your hearts;
For it is God who is the cause of your desires and of your acts, for his good pleasure.
Do all things without protests and arguments;
So that you may be holy and gentle, children of God without sin in a twisted and foolish generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,
Offering the word of life; so that I may have glory in you in the day of Christ, because my running was not for nothing and my work was not without effect.
And even if I am offered like a drink offering, giving myself for the cause and work of your faith, I am glad and have joy with you all:
And in the same way do you be glad and have a part in my joy.
But I am hoping in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you before long, so that I may be comforted when I have news of you.
For I have no man of like mind who will truly have care for you.
For they all go after what is theirs, not after the things of Christ.
But his quality is clear to you; how, as a child is to its father, so he was a help to me in the work of the good news.
Him then I am hoping to send as quickly as possible, when I am able to see how things will go for me:
But I have faith in the Lord that I myself will come before long.
But it seemed to me necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, who has taken part with me in the work and in the fight, and your servant, sent by you for help in my need;
Because his heart was with you all, and he was greatly troubled because you had news that he was ill:
For in fact he was ill almost to death: but God had mercy on him; and not only on him but on me, so that I might not have grief on grief.
I have sent him, then, the more gladly, so that when you see him again, you may be happy and I may have the less sorrow.
So take him to your hearts in the Lord with all joy, and give honour to such as he is:
Because for the work of Christ he was near to death, putting his life in danger to make your care for me complete.
— Philippians 2:1-1964, Bible in Basic English
“Christian Unity and Christ’s Humility Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose. Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death– even death on a cross! As a result God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow– in heaven and on earth and under the earth– and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Lights in the World So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort– for the sake of his good pleasure– is God. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world by holding on to the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice together with all of you. And in the same way you also should be glad and rejoice together with me. Models for Ministry Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you. For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you. Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know his qualifications, that like a son working with his father, he served with me in advancing the gospel. So I hope to send him as soon as I know more about my situation, though I am confident in the Lord that I too will be coming to see you soon. But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to me in my need. Indeed, he greatly missed all of you and was distressed because you heard that he had been ill. In fact he became so ill that he nearly died. But God showed mercy to him– and not to him only, but also to me– so that I would not have grief on top of grief. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you can rejoice and I can be free from anxiety. So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, since it was because of the work of Christ that he almost died. He risked his life so that he could make up for your inability to serve me.”
If then there is any comfort in Christ, any help given by love, any uniting of hearts in the Spirit, any loving mercies and pity,
Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in harmony and of one mind;
Doing nothing through envy or through pride, but with low thoughts of self let everyone take others to be better than himself;
Not looking everyone to his private good, but keeping in mind the things of others.
Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus,
To whom, though himself in the form of God, it did not seem that to take for oneself was to be like God;
But he made himself as nothing, taking the form of a servant, being made like men;
And being seen in form as a man, he took the lowest place, and let himself be put to death, even the death of the cross.
For this reason God has put him in the highest place and has given to him the name which is greater than every name;
So that at the name of Jesus every knee may be bent, of those in heaven and those on earth and those in the underworld,
And that every tongue may give witness that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So then, my loved ones, as you have at all times done what I say, not only when I am present, but now much more when I am not with you, give yourselves to working out your salvation with fear in your hearts;
For it is God who is the cause of your desires and of your acts, for his good pleasure.
Do all things without protests and arguments;
So that you may be holy and gentle, children of God without sin in a twisted and foolish generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,
Offering the word of life; so that I may have glory in you in the day of Christ, because my running was not for nothing and my work was not without effect.
And even if I am offered like a drink offering, giving myself for the cause and work of your faith, I am glad and have joy with you all:
And in the same way do you be glad and have a part in my joy.
But I am hoping in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you before long, so that I may be comforted when I have news of you.
For I have no man of like mind who will truly have care for you.
For they all go after what is theirs, not after the things of Christ.
But his quality is clear to you; how, as a child is to its father, so he was a help to me in the work of the good news.
Him then I am hoping to send as quickly as possible, when I am able to see how things will go for me:
But I have faith in the Lord that I myself will come before long.
But it seemed to me necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, who has taken part with me in the work and in the fight, and your servant, sent by you for help in my need;
Because his heart was with you all, and he was greatly troubled because you had news that he was ill:
For in fact he was ill almost to death: but God had mercy on him; and not only on him but on me, so that I might not have grief on grief.
I have sent him, then, the more gladly, so that when you see him again, you may be happy and I may have the less sorrow.
So take him to your hearts in the Lord with all joy, and give honour to such as he is:
Because for the work of Christ he was near to death, putting his life in danger to make your care for me complete.