English Standard Version
Philippians 1:9
9And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,
Philippians 1:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
- New International Version (NIV)And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
- New King James Version (NKJV)And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,
- New Living Translation (NLT)I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.
Context of Philippians 1:9
7It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Read all of Philippians 1Philippians 1:9 word by word
καὶ τοῦτο προσεύχομαι, ἵνα ἡ ἀγάπη ὑμῶν ἔτι μᾶλλον καὶ μᾶλλον περισσεύῃ ἐν ἐπιγνώσει καὶ πάσῃ αἰσθήσειRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- I prayπροσεύχομαιproseuchomai · to prayG4336
- thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
- yourσύsu · youG4771
- loveὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- loveἀγάπηagapē · loveG26
- may aboundπερισσεύωperisseuō · to exceedG4052
- yetἔτιeti · stillG2089
- moreμᾶλλονmallon · moreG3123
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- knowledgeἐπίγνωσιςepignōsis · knowledgeG1922
- allπᾶςpas · allG3956
- judgmentαἴσθησιςaisthēsis · insightG144
Cross-references for Philippians 1:9
- Philippians 1:4always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,
- Philippians 3:15Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
- Job 17:9Yet the righteous holds to his way, and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.
- Proverbs 4:18But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
- Matthew 13:31He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
- 2 Corinthians 8:7But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:12and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,
- 1 Thessalonians 4:1Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:3We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.
- Philemon 1:6and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.
- 1 Peter 1:22Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
- 1 Corinthians 14:20Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.
- Ephesians 5:17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
- Colossians 1:9And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
- Colossians 3:10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
- 2 Peter 1:5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
Commentaries on Philippians 1:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9This I pray - This is the substance of all my prayers for you, that your love to God, to one another, and to all mankind, may abound yet more and more, , that it may be like a river, perpetually fed with rain and fresh streams so that it continues to swell and increase till it fills all its banks, and floods the adjacent plains. In knowledge - Of God's nature, perfections, your own duty and interest, his work upon your souls, and his great designs in the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9And this I pray - We pray for those whom we love, and whose welfare we seek. We desire their happiness; and there is no way more appropriate of expressing that desire than of going to God, and seeking it at his hand. Paul proceeds to enumerate the blessings which he sought for them; and it is worthy of observation that he did not ask riches, or worldly prosperity, but that his supplications were confined to spiritual blessings, and he sought these as the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-11Verses 8-11 Shall not we pity and love those souls whom Christ loves and pities? Those who abound in any grace, need to abound more. Try things which differ; that we may approve the things which are excellent. The truths and laws of Christ are excellent; and they recommend themselves as such to any attentive mind. Sincerity is that in which we should have our conversation in the world, and it is the glory of all our graces. Christians should not be apt to…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-10Love is the result of Christ’s Spirit within believers (Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22). Love is part of the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is the evidence that Christ is working in believers abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight: Growing in understanding helps believers know what truly matters (see Romans 12:2). It helps them live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns (compare 1 Thessalonians 3:12–13; 5:23).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. The subject of his prayer for them (Php 1:4). your love--to Christ, producing love not only to Paul, Christ's minister, as it did, but also to one another, which it did not altogether as much as it ought (Php 2:2; 4:2). knowledge--of doctrinal and practical truth. judgment--rather, "perception"; "perceptive sense." Spiritual perceptiveness: spiritual sight, spiritual hearing, spiritual feeling, spiritual taste. Christianity is a vigorous plant, not the…Read the comment
Topics related to Philippians 1:9
In the dictionaries
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
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