Filipi 1:25

1:25 And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress ¹  and joy in the faith, ² 

Filipi 1:28

1:28 and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is ³  a sign of their ⁴  destruction, but of your salvation – a sign which ⁵  is from God.

[1:25]  ¹ tn Grk “for your progress.”

[1:25]  ² sn Paul’s confidence in his release from prison (I know that I will remain and continue with all of you) implies that this Roman imprisonment did not end in his death. Hence, there is the likelihood that he experienced a second Roman imprisonment later on (since the belief of the early church was that Paul died under Nero in Rome). If so, then the pastoral letters (1-2 Tim, Titus) could well fit into a life of Paul that goes beyond any descriptions in the book of Acts (which ends with Paul’s first Roman imprisonment). Some have argued that the pastorals cannot be genuine because they cannot fit into the history of Acts. But this view presupposes that Paul’s first Roman imprisonment was also his last.

[1:28]  ³ tn Grk “which is,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 27.

[1:28]  sn The antecedent of the pronoun This is conceptual, most likely referring to the Philippian Christians standing firm for the gospel. Thus, their stand for the gospel is the dual sign of their opponents’ destruction and of their own salvation.

[1:28]  ⁴ tn Grk “to them.”

[1:28]  sn Paul uses the dative “to them” (translated here as their) to describe the coming destruction of the gospel’s enemies, but the genitive “your” to describe the believers’ coming salvation. The dative accents what will happen to the enemies (called a dative of disadvantage [see ExSyn 143-44]), while the genitive accents what the believers will possess (and, in fact, do already possess, as v. 29 makes clear).

[1:28]  ⁵ tn Grk “this.” The pronoun refers back to “a sign”; thus these words have been repeated for clarity.