By J.R. Dodson, Ouachita Baptist University

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (NIV)

I am a Greek teacher. I teach Greek. For this reason, I am always looking for illustrations to answer the question my bold students ask and my timid ones ponder, "Why should I learn Greek?" To answer this question, I often refer to the first time I watched football on a high-definition television. Although I had seen hundreds of football games on television before, I had never seen one with such detail, such brilliance. Sure, a touchdown is a touchdown despite the number of megapixels, but in hi-def, I could actually see a bead of sweat fly off Darren McFadden's face as he pounced into the end zone.

Similarly, most English translations do a fine job of providing the overall picture; however, the Biblical languages enable the reader to see the message with more clarity, such as realizing the emphasis of each sentence. Furthermore, there are often numerous ways to translate a single passage. Due to certain limitations, translators are forced to choose only one option - their best guess. In preparing for a class this week, I came across a good example in a popular passage, Philippians 1:3-6 (cited above).

The issue in this passage involves the phrase, "from the first day until now." Without getting bogged down into the glorious details, the Greek text allows for at least three options which affect the translation. For the lack of a better designation, the phrase "from the first day until now" acts a bit like a dangling modifier. That is to say, it can go with the phrase it immediately follows, i.e. "your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now" or with the main clause, "We have continued to give thanks, from the first day until now." Moreover, the phrase can be taken to introduce verse 6, "from the first day until now, I have been confident that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ."

Most English translations go with the first option to signify that the Philippians have contributed to Paul's ministry from the very beginning. This interpretation is a good choice (probably the best one) for at least two reasons. First, the phrase "from the first day until now" immediately follows the words "your partnership in the gospel."[1] Second, one main purpose of this letter is to thank the Philippians for their continuous support (see Phil. 4:14-19). If this option is correct, "from the first day until now" places the stress on the ongoing encouragement (especially provision) the church has given to Paul.

One can also translate this phrase as "I have continued to give thanks for you from the first day until now." In favor of this interpretation are the numerous other words and phrases Paul uses in this passage to underscore the scope of his thankfulness for the believers. For instance, the apostle uses four forms of the Greek word for all (pas) - I give thanks for all of you, always, in all of my petitions, on behalf of all of you. Moreover, the verb forms Paul uses here have a continuous aspect, such as "I continue to give thanks" and "I continue to make a petition for you." If "From the first day until now" is following suit, then the emphasis is placed on Paul's gratitude and love for the believers in Philippi. Whereas the first option underlines the church's partnership in the gospel from the beginning, this option adds to the number of other markers that highlight Paul's unceasing thankfulness and prayers for the Philippians from the start. Once again, this idea would introduce another major topic of the letter: unlike many who preach the gospel for selfish gain, Paul genuinely cares for these believers (1:14-16; cf. 1 Thessalonians).

Finally, the words "from the first day until now" could be taken to introduce verse 6 in order to express Paul's confidence from the very first day that the Lord would continue to work in these believers until the very last day, the day of Christ. Support for this interpretation is this word-play with "day" (as seen in the italics above).  If one follows this interpretation, Paul emphasizes the assurance of Christ's work to save and sanctify the believers, an idea brought up later in the letter: "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (2:12-13; NIV).

All three of these translations are viable options; all three are true. Throughout the letter, Paul makes it clear that he is really thankful for the believers, that the church has really participated in the gospel, and that he is really confident that God will continue to work in the believers. Rather than arguing for a particular translation, the goal of this article is merely to reveal to you the options the Greek text makes available and to help you understand that "from the first day until now," renders one of these three phrases not just "really" but "really, really"-affecting not only the primary emphasis of this passage but probably of the entire letter.

[1] There is, however, arguably a smoother way in the Greek to stress the church's partnership in the gospel [cf. Moise/s Silva, Philippians ECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005), 43]. On the other hand, Paul is not always known for writing in polished Greek, see R. Dean Anderson Jr., Ancient Rhetorical Theory and Paul (Leuven: Peeters, 1999).