The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 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,
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Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another.
2 Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in harmony and of one mind;
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I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind.
3 Doing nothing through envy or through pride, but with low thoughts of self let everyone take others to be better than himself;
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Don't do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves.
4 Not looking everyone to his private good, but keeping in mind the things of others.
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And look out for one another's interests, not just for your own.
5 Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus,
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The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had:
6 To whom, though himself in the form of God, it did not seem that to take for oneself was to be like God;
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He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God.
7 But he made himself as nothing, taking the form of a servant, being made like men;
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Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness.
8 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.
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He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death - his death on the cross.
9 For this reason God has put him in the highest place and has given to him the name which is greater than every name;
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For this reason God raised him to the highest place above and gave him the name that is greater than any other name.
10 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,
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And so, in honor of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees,
11 And that every tongue may give witness that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 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;
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So then, dear friends, as you always obeyed me when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey me now while I am away from you. Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation,
13 For it is God who is the cause of your desires and of your acts, for his good pleasure.
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because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.
14 Do all things without protests and arguments;
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Do everything without complaining or arguing,
15 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,
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so that you may be innocent and pure as God's perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky,
16 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.
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as you offer them the message of life. If you do so, I shall have reason to be proud of you on the Day of Christ, because it will show that all my effort and work have not been wasted.
17 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:
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Perhaps my life's blood is to be poured out like an offering on the sacrifice that your faith offers to God. If that is so, I am glad and share my joy with you all.
18 And in the same way do you be glad and have a part in my joy.
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In the same way, you too must be glad and share your joy with me.
19 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.
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If it is the Lord's will, I hope that I will be able to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be encouraged by news about you.
20 For I have no man of like mind who will truly have care for you.
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He is the only one who shares my feelings and who really cares about you.
21 For they all go after what is theirs, not after the things of Christ.
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Everyone else is concerned only with their own affairs, not with the cause of Jesus Christ.
22 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.
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And you yourselves know how he has proved his worth, how he and I, like a son and his father, have worked together for the sake of the gospel.
23 Him then I am hoping to send as quickly as possible, when I am able to see how things will go for me:
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So I hope to send him to you as soon as I know how things are going to turn out for me.
24 But I have faith in the Lord that I myself will come before long.
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And I trust in the Lord that I myself will be able to come to you soon.
25 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;
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I have thought it necessary to send to you our brother Epaphroditus, who has worked and fought by my side and who has served as your messenger in helping me.
26 Because his heart was with you all, and he was greatly troubled because you had news that he was ill:
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He is anxious to see you all and is very upset because you had heard that he was sick.
27 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.
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Indeed he was sick and almost died. But God had pity on him, and not only on him but on me, too, and spared me an even greater sorrow.
28 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.
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I am all the more eager, then, to send him to you, so that you will be glad again when you see him, and my own sorrow will disappear.
29 So take him to your hearts in the Lord with all joy, and give honour to such as he is:
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Receive him, then, with joy, as a believer in the Lord. Show respect to all such people as he,
30 Because for the work of Christ he was near to death, putting his life in danger to make your care for me complete.
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because he risked his life and nearly died for the sake of the work of Christ, in order to give me the help that you yourselves could not give.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.