Philippians 3:14

Amplified Bible

I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

King James Version (1611)
I presse toward the marke, for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Iesus.

King James Version
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

English Standard Version
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

New American Standard Bible
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

New Century Version
I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Legacy Standard Bible
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Berean Standard Bible
I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God's heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

Contemporary English Version
I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.

Complete Jewish Bible
I keep pursuing the goal in order to win the prize offered by God's upward calling in the Messiah Yeshua.

Darby Translation
I pursue, [looking] towards [the] goal, for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus.

Easy-to-Read Version
I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has called me through Christ Jesus to life up there in heaven.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And followe hard toward the marke, for the prise of the hie calling of God in Christ Iesus.

George Lamsa Translation
I press toward the goal to receive the prize of victory of God''s highest calling through Jesus Christ.

Good News Translation
So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God's call through Christ Jesus to the life above.

Lexham English Bible
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Literal Translation
I press on after a mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

American Standard Version
I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Bible in Basic English
I go forward to the mark, even the reward of the high purpose of God in Christ Jesus.

Hebrew Names Version
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Messiah Yeshua.

International Standard Version
I keep pursuing the goal to win the prizethe goal for the prize">[fn] of God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus.2 Timothy 4:7-8; Hebrews 3:1; 12:1;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
I stretch, and run towards the sign, to obtain the victory of the high vocation of Aloha by Jeshu Meshiha.

Murdock Translation
14 and I run straight for the goal, that I may obtain the [fn] of victory of the call of God from on high, by Jesus the Messiah.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And I prease towarde the marke, for the price of the hye callyng of God in Christe Iesus.

English Revised Version
I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

World English Bible
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But one thing I do, forgetting the things that are behind, and reaching forth unto the things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Weymouth's New Testament
with my eyes fixed on the goal I push on to secure the prize of God's heavenward call in Christ Jesus.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and pursue to the ordeyned mede of the hiy clepyng of God in Crist Jhesu.

Update Bible Version
I press on toward the goal to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Webster's Bible Translation
I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

New English Translation
with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

New King James Version
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

New Living Translation
I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

New Life Bible
My eyes are on the crown. I want to win the race and get the crown of God's call from heaven through Christ Jesus.

New Revised Standard
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
With the goal in view, I press on for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Douay-Rheims Bible
I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus.

Revised Standard Version
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
and preace vnto ye marke apoynted to obtayne the rewarde of the hye callynge of god in Christ Iesu.

Young's Literal Translation
to the mark I pursue for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& preace vnto ye marck apoynted, to optayne the rewarde of the hye callynge of God in Christ Iesu.

Mace New Testament (1729)
I press towards the mark for the prize to which God has called me from above by Jesus Christ.

Simplified Cowboy Version
I'm running across God's pasture at full-stupid so that I can win the prize that is waiting for me in Christ Jesus.

Contextual Overview

⁹and may be found in Him [believing and relying on Him], not having any righteousness of my own derived from [my obedience to] the Law and its rituals, but [possessing] that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did]; ¹¹so that I may attain to the resurrection [that will raise me] from the dead. ¹²Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own. ¹³Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

press: Luke 16:16, 2 Corinthians 4:17, 2 Corinthians 4:18, 2 Corinthians 5:1, 2 Timothy 4:7, 2 Timothy 4:8, Revelation 3:21

the high: Romans 8:28-30, Romans 9:23, Romans 9:24, 1 Thessalonians 2:12, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:14, Hebrews 3:1, 1 Peter 1:3, 1 Peter 1:4, 1 Peter 1:13, 1 Peter 5:10, 2 Peter 1:3

Reciprocal: Genesis 19:17 - look Joshua 18:3 - How long are Psalms 19:5 - rejoiceth Psalms 119:40 - I have Ezekiel 46:9 - he that entereth in Zephaniah 2:3 - seek righteousness Luke 9:51 - he stedfastly 1 Corinthians 9:24 - so run Ephesians 1:18 - his calling Ephesians 4:1 - vocation Philippians 2:12 - work Philippians 3:12 - I follow 1 Thessalonians 4:1 - so ye 2 Thessalonians 1:11 - calling 1 Timothy 6:19 - lay James 1:9 - in 1 Peter 1:15 - as 1 Peter 2:9 - who

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the LORD God had made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, "Can it really be that God has said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"

Genesis 3:15
"And I will put enmity (open hostility) Between you and the woman, And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed; He shall [fatally] bruise your head, And you shall [only] bruise His heel."

Genesis 3:20
The man named his wife Eve (life spring, life giver), because she was the mother of all the living.

Genesis 9:6
"Whoever sheds man's blood [unlawfully], By man (judicial government) shall his blood be shed, For in the image of God He made man.

Leviticus 20:25
'You are therefore to make a distinction between the [ceremonially] clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that crawls on the ground, which I have set apart from you as unclean.

Psalms 72:9
The nomads of the desert will bow before him, And his enemies will lick the dust.

Isaiah 29:4
Then you [Jerusalem] will be brought low, You will speak from the earth, And from the dust where you lie face down Your muffled words will come. Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the earth [like one produced by a medium], And your speech will whisper and squeak from the dust.

Isaiah 65:25
"The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox [there will no longer be predator and prey]; and dust will be the serpent's food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain (Zion)," says the LORD.

Micah 7:17
They shall lick the dust like a serpent; Like crawling things of the earth They shall come trembling out of their fortresses and hiding places. They shall turn and come with fear and dread to the LORD our God And they shall be afraid and stand in awe before You [O LORD].

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I press toward the mark,.... The allusion is to the white line, or mark, which the runners in the Olympic games made up to, and to which he that came first received the prize; and by which the apostle intends the Lord Jesus Christ, who is σκοπος, "the scope", or "mark", of all the thoughts, purposes, and counsels of God, to which they all aim, and in which they all centre; and of the covenant of grace of which he is the sum and substance, the Mediator, surety, and messenger, in whom are all the blessings and promises of it; and of the Scriptures of truth, the writings of the Old and New Testament, which all testify of him, and agree in him; and of both law and Gospel, he is the end of the law, and the substance of the Gospel; and of all the graces of the Spirit, in the hearts of his people, faith looks at him, hope is concerned with him, and love has him for its object; and of all the duties believers are concerned in, they all point at him, they are done in his name and strength, through faith in him, and from a principle of love to him, and with a view to his glory; and so he is of their thoughts, affections, and desires: and to this mark they press, or "run", as the Syriac version renders it; they look to Jesus, while they are running their Christian race; they keep him in their view, and follow after him, because he is their forerunner, Hebrews 6:20, and the Captain of their salvation, Hebrews 2:10; they set him before them as their guide to direct them, according to whom they steer their course, that so they may not lose their way, nor move out of it, to the right hand or the left; and from whom they take great encouragement to go on, and press through the difficulties they do; and besides, they know that there is no coming at the prize, but through the mark, for there is salvation in no other, Acts 4:12; and that whoever comes up to the mark, or believes in Christ, shall enjoy the prize of eternal life, which is next mentioned:

for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus: by which is meant, the incorruptible crown; the crown of life, righteousness, and glory, that fadeth not away, James 1:12, styled "the prize of the calling of God"; because it is what God in the effectual calling calls his people to, even to a kingdom and glory, and to eternal glory and happiness; of which they have a sight, though but a glimmering view of it, and are blessed with hope in it; in which they rejoice, and see their right unto it, in the righteousness of Christ, and have a meetness for it: this is named "the high calling of God", because God is on high, who calls them to it, in allusion to the judge in the Olympic games, who was placed in an exalted situation, near the mark, with the crown in his hand, which he gave to him that came first; and because the grace by which the saints are called is from above, as every good and perfect gift is, James 1:17; and because the prize they are called unto consists of things above, where Jesus is, and is the hope laid up in heaven, Colossians 1:5, and the inheritance reserved there, 1 Peter 1:4; and expresses the great honour and dignity of called ones, who are called to a crown and kingdom, are raised from the dunghill, to sit among princes, and to inherit the throne of glory, and are made kings and priests unto God: and may also denote, that the calling to such high honour is from above, and not below; and is owing to the special grace and favour of God, and not to any merits of men; nor is the prize to which they are called, of him that willeth and runneth, but of God's grace and mercy, Romans 9:16: and moreover, this calling is said to be "in Christ Jesus"; for both the purpose and grace, according to which men are called, are in him; the grace by which they are called, and which is implanted in them when called, is all in and from Christ; the blessings of grace, which they then in person enjoy, are spiritual blessings in him; and even the glory they are called unto is in his hands; not only the promise of eternal life, but that itself; the gift of it is with him, and it comes through him; yea, they are called by him, and said to be the called of Christ Jesus; now the prize of this calling, which is what God has prepared from all eternity, which Christ has in his hands, and will give to all his, and which is of immense richness and eternal duration, and shall be bestowed on all Christian runners, or true believers, is what the apostle was pressing for, pursuing after, with much difficulty, through great toil and labour, diligent searching of the Scriptures, frequent wrestling with God in prayer, and constant attendance on the means of grace, and ordinances of the Gospel.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I press toward the mark - As he who was running a race did. The “mark” means properly the object set up at a distance at which one looks or aims, and hence the goal, or post which was set up at the end of a race-course, and which was to be reached in order that the prize might be won. Here it means that which is at the end of the Christian race - in heaven.

For the prize - The prize of the racer was a crown or garland of olive, laurel, pine, or apple; see the notes at 1 Corinthians 9:24. The prize of the Christian is the crown that is incorruptible in heaven.

Of the high calling of God - Which is the end or result of that calling. God has called us to great and noble efforts; to a career of true honor and glory; to the obtainment of a bright and imperishable crown. It is a calling which is “high,” or “upward” - (ἄνω anō) - that is, which tends to the skies. The calling of the Christian is from heaven, and to heaven; compare Proverbs 15:24. He has been summoned by God through the gospel of the Lord Jesus to secure the crown. It is placed before and above him in heaven. It may be his, if he will not faint or tire or look backward. It demands his highest efforts, and it is worth all the exertions which a mortal can make even in the longest life.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 14. I press toward the mark — κατα σκοπον διωκω. I pursue along the line; this is a reference to the white line that marked the ground in the stadium, from the starting place to the goal, on which the runners were obliged to keep their eye fixed; for they who transgressed or went beyond this line did not run lawfully, and were not crowned, even though they got first to the goal. See the concluding observations on "1 Corinthians 9:27".

What is called σκοπος, mark or scope, here, is called κανων the line, i.e. the marked line, Philippians 3:16. When it was said to Diogenes, the cynic, "Thou art now an old man, rest from thy labours;" to this he answered: Ει δολιχον εδραμον, προς τῳ τελει εδει με ανειναι, και μη μαλλον επιτειναι; "If I have run long in the race, will it become me to slacken my pace when come near the end; should I not rather stretch forward?" Diog. Laert., lib. vi. cap. 2. sec. 6.

For the prize of the high calling of God — The reward which God from above calls me, by Christ Jesus, to receive. The apostle still keeps in view his crown of martyrdom and his glorious resurrection.