Philippians - Verse-by-Verse Biblical Exegesis

WHO Philippians 4:10 VEca,rhn de. evn kuri,w| mega,lwj o[ti h;dh pote. avneqa,lete to. u`pe.r evmou/
fronei/n evf w-| kai. evfronei/te hvkairei/sqe de,
VUL Philippians 4:10 gavisus sum autem in Domino vehementer quoniam tandem aliquando
refloruistis pro me sentire sicut et sentiebatis occupati autem eratis
LWB Philp. 4:11 Not that I am speaking with reference to poverty, because I have learned to
be continually content [self-sufficient in supergrace status by means of the Lord] in
whatever [circumstances] I am in.
KW Philp. 4:11 It is not that I speak as regards a need, for, so far as I am concerned, I have come
to learn, in the circumstances in which I am placed, to be independent of these and selfsufficient.
KJV
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I
am, therewith to be content.
TRANSLATION HIGHLIGHTS
In case they might think he was impatient with the time that had elapsed from their first financial
gift to the one that had just arrived, he tells them he is not referring to a state of poverty (Static
Present tense). He is doing just fine and is not lacking anything. He was overjoyed to receive
additional money, but his true happiness was that they were still thinking about him. He has
learned after many trials and deprivations (Culminative Aorist tense) to be constantly content
(Perfective Present tense) in supergrace status. No matter what circumstances he finds himself in
(Pictorial Present tense), he is never lacking or deficient in anything (Latin: sufficient), because
the Lord is always with him. In any and every situation, including when he was alone in prison,
he still has fellowship with the Father, Son and Spirit.
REVELANT OPINIONS
Paul had been raised in the lap of luxury and had never known want as a young man. (K. Wuest)
Paul again guards against the suspicions that his spirit was pusillanimous and broken down by
adversities. (J. Calvin) This is not Stoic independence, but Christian dependence upon Christ. (K.
Wuest) This neuter phrase is not indefinite and should not be rendered "whatever state." It refers to
his present circumstances in Rome, "in which circumstances." (H.A. Kent) I thought about this
interpretation, but he (Kent) seems to ignore the concept of immediate and remote references … so I
leave my translation as it is. (LWB) Paul is detached from outward circumstances, but this is not
fatalism or indolent acquiesence. (R.P. Martin) Contentment is an art. It must be learned. We cannot
acquire it at a bound. We must serve our apprenticeship to it as to any other art. It is not a science to
be theoretically mastered, but an art to be practically obtained. We must go to the ‘school of art,’ we
must set ourselves earnestly as scholars to learn the lesson, and we must “keep our hands in” by
constant practice. (T. Croskery)