Philippians 1:23

Philippians 1:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
• New International Version (NIV)I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
• English Standard Version (ESV)I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

Context of Philippians 1:23

21For for me to live [is] Christ, and to die gain; 22but if to live in flesh [is my lot], this is for me worth the while: and what I shall choose I cannot tell. But I am pressed by both, having the desire for departure and being with Christ, [for] [it is] very much better, 24but remaining in the flesh [is] more necessary for your sakes; 25and having confidence of this, I know that I shall remain and abide along with you all, for your progress and joy in faith;

Philippians 1:23 word by word

συνέχομαι δὲ ἐκ τῶν δύο, τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἔχων εἰς τὸ ἀναλῦσαι καὶ σὺν Χριστῷ εἶναι, πολλῷ γὰρ μᾶλλον κρεῖσσον·Read the interlinear

• amεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• desireἐπιθυμίαepithumia · desireG1939
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• muchπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183

Cross-references for Philippians 1:23

• 2 Samuel 24:14And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall, I pray thee, into the hand of Jehovah; for his mercies are great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:1For ye know yourselves, brethren, our entering in which [we had] to you, that it has not been in vain;
• Luke 12:50But I have a baptism to be baptised with, and how am I straitened until it shall have been accomplished!
• 2 Corinthians 6:12Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your affections;
• Luke 2:29Lord, now thou lettest thy bondman go, according to thy word, in peace;
• John 13:1Now before the feast of the passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come that he should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end.
• 2 Corinthians 5:8we are confident, I say, and pleased rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord.
• 2 Timothy 4:6For I am already being poured out, and the time of my release is come.
• Job 19:26And [if] after my skin this shall be destroyed, yet from out of my flesh shall I see God;
• Psalms 49:15But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol: for he will receive me. Selah.
• Luke 8:38But the man out of whom the demons had gone besought him that he might be with him. But he sent him away, saying,
• Luke 23:43And Jesus said to him, Verily I say to thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
• John 14:3and if I go and shall prepare you a place, I am coming again and shall receive you to myself, that where I am ye also may be.
• John 17:24Father, [as to] those whom thou hast given me, I desire that where I am they also may be with me, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovedst me before [the] foundation of [the] world.
• Acts 7:59And they stoned Stephen, praying, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:17then we, the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them in [the] clouds, to meet the Lord in [the] air; and thus we shall be always with [the] Lord.

Commentaries on Philippians 1:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23For I am in a strait betwixt two - Viz. the dying now, and being immediately with God; or living longer to preach and spread the Gospel, and thus glorify Christ among men. Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ - . It appears to be a metaphor taken from the commander of a vessel, in a foreign port, who feels a strong desire , to set sail, and get to his own country and family; but this desire is counterbalanced by a conviction that the general…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23For I am in a strait betwixt two - Two things, each of which I desire. I earnestly long to be with Christ; and I desire to remain to be useful to the world. The word rendered “I am in a strait” - ́ sunechomai- means to be pressed on or constrained, as in a crowd; to feel oneself pressed or pent up so as not to know what to do; and it here means that he was in perplexity and doubt, and did not know what to choose. “The words of the original are very…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-26Verses 21-26 Death is a great loss to a carnal, worldly man, for he loses all his earthly comforts and all his hopes; but to a true believer it is gain, for it is the end of all his weakness and misery. It delivers him from all the evils of life, and brings him to possess the chief good. The apostle's difficulty was not between living in this world and living in heaven; between these two there is no comparison; but between serving Christ in this world and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23I desire to depart and be with Christ: Death leads believers immediately into the Lord’s presence (see 3:20–21; 1 Corinthians 15:20–23, 51–52; 2 Corinthians 5:1–8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. For--The oldest manuscripts read, "But." "I know not (Php 1:22), BUT am in a strait (am perplexed) betwixt the two (namely, 'to live' and 'to die'), having the desire for departing (literally, 'to loose anchor,' 2Ti 4:6) and being with Christ; FOR (so the oldest manuscripts) it is by far better"; or as the Greek, more forcibly, "by far the more preferable"; a double comparative. This refutes the notion of the soul being dormant during its separation…Read the comment

Topics related to Philippians 1:23

• Death
• Epaphras
• Love
• Resignation
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Confirmation
• Conversation
• Death
• Flesh
• Furtherance
• Yea
• Commentaries
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Hades

Commentaries on Philippians 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings