Read The Jewish Annotated New Testament Online
Authors: Amy-Jill Levine
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So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.
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Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
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and do not make room for the devil.
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Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.
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Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up,
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as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.
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And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.
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Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,
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and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
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Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,
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and live in love, as Christ loved us
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and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
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But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints.
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Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving.
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Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
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Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient.
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Therefore do not be associated with them.
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For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light—
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for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.
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Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.
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Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
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For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly;
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but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
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for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
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Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise,
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making the most of the time, because the days are evil.
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So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
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Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,
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as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts,
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giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.
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Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord.
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For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior.
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Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.
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Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
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in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word,
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so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish.
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In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
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For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church,
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because we are members of his body.
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“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
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This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church.
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Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.
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Children, obey your parents in the Lord,
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for this is right.
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“Honor your father and mother”—this is the first commandment with a promise:
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“so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
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And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
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Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ;
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not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.
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Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women,
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knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free.
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And, masters, do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.
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Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.
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Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
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For our
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struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
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Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
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Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.
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As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.
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With all of these,
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take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
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Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
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Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.
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Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
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for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
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So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus will tell you everything. He is a dear brother and a faithful minister in the Lord.
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I am sending him to you for this very purpose, to let you know how we are, and to encourage your hearts.
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Peace be to the whole community,
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and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
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THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS
TITLE AND AUTHORSHIP
Philippians is Paul’s epistle to the first church that he established on European soil. In 50/51 CE, he sailed from Asia Minor (Turkey) to Macedonia, in northern Greece (Acts 16.11–40). A ten-mile access road from the Aegean Sea brought him to Philippi, named for its founder, Philip II (father of Alexander the Great).
DATE AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Dating Philippians is problematic because, while stating that he is in prison, Paul does not indicate where. Christian tradition presumes Rome in the early 60s (cf. Acts 28.16). But the many messages and trips (past and anticipated) that the letter presupposes between Philippi and Paul’s prison site (2.19,23–30; 4.18) cannot be squared with Philippi’s formidable distance from Rome—exceeding seven hundred land-miles, nine hundred by sea. While some scholars opt for an earlier Pauline captivity in the late 50s in Caesarea Maritima (Acts 23.23,33; 25.24), Caesarea is even farther from Philippi than is Rome. Increasingly, recent scholarship has gravitated to a mid-50s dating at Ephesus, only four hundred miles south-southeast of Philippi. While we know of no Pauline incarceration there, Paul alludes to “far more imprisonments” (2 Cor 11.23; cf. 6.5), and Paul’s ministry in Ephesus lasted three years. As chief city of Rome’s Asia province, Ephesus also hosted contingents of both imperial soldiers (1.13) and Caesar’s administrative staff (4.22). Further, Timothy, mentioned alongside Paul in the letter’s salutation (1.1; 2.19–24), was with Paul at Ephesus (1 Cor 4.17; 16.10; cf. Acts 19.22).
Despite the Philippians’ poverty (2 Cor 8.1–5), they had sent Paul sustenance several times (4.10,15–16; cf. 2 Cor 11.7–9), most recently through Epaphroditus. Since Epaphroditus has just recovered from a life-threatening illness, Paul now dispatches him homeward, bearing this letter. Paul warmly thanks the Philippians, assesses his circumstances and prospects for release, and advises the Philippians on their problems (which he likely learned from Epaphroditus directly).
LITERARY HISTORY
Due to an abrupt transition as ch 3 opens, and arguably a disorderly sequencing of the Epistle’s themes, some conclude that Philippians is a composite of two or more Pauline writings fastened together: one encompassing 1.1–3.1a concluded by 4.21–23; a second, 3.1b–4.20 (with 4.10–20 as yet a possible third). Others see no decisive reason to deny Philippians’ literary unity—with the proviso that Paul likely drew the Christ hymn (2.6–11) from elsewhere.