the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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King James Version
Philippians 2:25
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But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need;
But I regarded it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need;
But while we wait on all that, I am going to send Epaphroditus back your way. This man is my brother, pard, and fellow cowboy and has taken care of me like you asked him to.
But it seemed to me necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, who has taken part with me in the work and in the fight, and your servant, sent by you for help in my need;
but I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-workman and fellow-soldier, but your messenger and minister to my need,
But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need—
But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need;
Yet I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and companion in labour and fellow-soldier, but your messenger, and him that ministered to my need.
Yet I deem it important to send Epaphroditus to you now--he is my brother and comrade both in labour and in arms, and is your messenger who has ministered to my needs.
Yet I supposed it necessary, to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and companion in labour, and fellow souldiour, but your messenger, and hee that ministred to my wants.
But I thought it needful to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-worker, and my fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister of my need,
Neuertheles I thoughte it necessary to sende vnto you the brother Ephraditus, which is my companyon in laboure and felowe soudyer, and youre Apostell, and my mynister at my nede,
however I thought it necessary to send you Epaphroditus my brother, my collegue in the ministry, and my fellow-soldier, whom you had sent to supply my wants:
But for right now, I'm dispatching Epaphroditus, my good friend and companion in my work. You sent him to help me out; now I'm sending him to help you out. He has been wanting in the worst way to get back with you. Especially since recovering from the illness you heard about, he's been wanting to get back and reassure you that he is just fine. He nearly died, as you know, but God had mercy on him. And not only on him—he had mercy on me, too. His death would have been one huge grief piled on top of all the others.
However, I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, [who has been] my brother and companion and fellow soldier, who was also sent as your messenger to take care of my needs.
But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need;
I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphrodi'tus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,
I supposed it necessary to sende brother Epaphroditus vnto you my companion in laboure and felowe soudier youre Apostel and my minister at my nedes.
But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and co-worker and fellow-soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need;
Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labor, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.
And I thought [it] necessary Epaphroditus -- my brother, and fellow-workman, and fellow-soldier, and your apostle and servant to my need -- to send unto you,
Epaphroditus, my brother in Christ, works and serves with me in the army of Christ. When I needed help, you sent him to me. I think now that I must send him back to you,
But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to me in my need.
But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs.
I think I ought to send my dear friend Epaphroditus back to you. He is a follower and a worker and a soldier of the Lord, just as I am. You sent him to look after me,
Also I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, the emissary whom you sent to take care of my needs;
I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,
But I supposed it necessarie to sende my brother Epaphroditus vnto you, my companion in labour, and fellowe souldier, euen your messenger, and he that ministred vnto me such things as I wanted.
But right now I am forced through circumstances to send to you Epaphroditus, a brother, and assistant and co-worker with me, but he is also your apostle and one who ministers to my wants.
But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need;
Meanwhile, I thought it best to send Epaphroditus - my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and minister to my need - back to you.2 Corinthians 8:23; 11:9; Philippians 4:18;">[xr]
But now the matter hath pressed me to send to you the brother Epaphroditos, who is a helper and labourer with me, but your messenger and minister to my necessity;
But now, a circumstance urged me to send to you Epaphroditus, the brother who is an assistant and laborer with me, but is your legate and minister to my wants.
Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need;
Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need.
I thought it was right that I send Epaphroditus back to you. You helped me by sending him to me. We have worked together like brothers. He was like a soldier fighting beside me.
But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need;
Still, I think it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus—my brother and co-worker and fellow soldier, your messenger and minister to my need;
Needful, nevertheless have I accounted it - Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, but your apostle and public minister to my need, to send unto you;
But I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow labourer and fellow soldier, but your apostle: and he that hath ministered to my wants.
But I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, but your messenger and servant of my need,
But I supposed it necessarie to sende to you Epaphroditus, my brother and companion in labour, & felowe souldier, but your Apostle, and the minister of my neede.
For now, I think I must send Epaphroditus back to you. He is my brother in God's family, who works and serves with me in the Lord's army. When I needed help, you sent him to me,
But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need,
I have thought it necessary to send to you our brother Epaphroditus, who has worked and fought by my side and who has served as your messenger in helping me.
And Y gesside it nedeful to sende to you Epafrodite, my brother and euene worchere, and myn euene knyyt, but youre apostle, and the mynystre of my nede.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Epaphroditus: Philippians 4:18
my brother: 2 Corinthians 2:13, 2 Corinthians 8:22, Philemon 1:1
companion: Philippians 4:3, 1 Corinthians 3:9, 2 Corinthians 8:23, Colossians 1:7, Colossians 4:11, 1 Thessalonians 3:2, Philemon 1:1, Philemon 1:24
fellowsoldier: 2 Timothy 2:3, 2 Timothy 2:4, Philemon 1:2
but: Proverbs 25:13, John 17:18, 2 Corinthians 8:23, Hebrews 3:1,*Gr.
and he: Philippians 4:18, 2 Corinthians 11:7-9
Reciprocal: Luke 10:2 - the labourers 2 Corinthians 9:12 - only 2 Corinthians 11:9 - wanted Ephesians 6:22 - General Philippians 2:19 - to send Colossians 4:7 - a beloved 1 Thessalonians 2:8 - affectionately Hebrews 1:14 - ministering
Cross-References
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
Let me not be ashamed, O Lord ; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.
They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord .
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus,.... In the mean while, before either he or Timothy could come to them. This man was sent by the Philippians to the apostle with a present, and had been detained at Rome for some time, partly through business, and partly through sickness; but now the apostle thought it proper, he being recovered, to send him to them, who was one of their ministers. One of this name lived at Rome about this time, and was one of Nero's freemen o, but not the same person here intended. This person has a very high character. The apostle calls him,
my brother; not in a natural relation, or as being his countryman, and so according to a way of speaking with the Jews, and himself, his brother and kinsman according to the flesh; for by his name and country he seems to be a Greek; but in a spiritual relation, being born again of the same Father, belonging to the same household and family, and also a brother in the ministry, as it follows:
and companion in labour; in the laborious work of preaching the Gospel. The ministry of the word is a work; it is called the work of the ministry; and it is a laborious one when diligently and faithfully performed: the apostle was a workman that needed not to be ashamed, a labourer in Christ's vineyard, and one that laboured more abundantly than others; and he was not alone, he had companions in his work, and this good man was one of them: he adds,
and fellow soldier; the life of every believer is a warfare; he is always engaged in a war with sin, and Satan, and the world; and is often called to fight the fight of faith, to contend earnestly against false teachers for the faith once delivered to the saints, to stand up for it, and fast in it; and is provided for with the whole armour of God, with weapons of warfare, which are not carnal, but spiritual and mighty, being enlisted as a volunteer under the great Captain of his salvation, Jesus Christ, under whose banner he fights, and is more than a conqueror through him: but though this is the common case and character of all the saints, it more especially belongs to ministers of the Gospel; who are set for the defence of it, and at the front of the battle, and are called to meet the enemy at the gate, and endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ; and such an one was the apostle; and he had other fellow soldiers, and this person among the rest, who were engaged in the same common cause with the same enemies, under the same Captain, and would enjoy the same crown:
but your messenger; or "apostle"; meaning either that he was the pastor of them, a preacher to them, a minister among them; for ordinary ministers of the word were sometimes called apostles, as well as extraordinary ones, see Romans 16:7; or rather, that he was their messenger to him, to relieve, comfort, and assist him in his bonds; and such persons were called the messengers of the churches, 2 Corinthians 8:23, which sense is strengthened by what follows:
and he that ministered to my wants: to his personal wants in prison, and to the wants of the poor saints, which the apostle reckoned as his own, and which he used to supply; but now not able; and to his ministerial wants, filling up his place in preaching the Gospel to the saints at Rome.
o Artinn. Epictet. l. 1. c. 1, 19, 26. & Aurel. Victor. Epitome Rom. Imp. in Nerone.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus - Epaphroditus is nowhere else mentioned but in this Epistle; see Philippians 4:18. All that is known of him, therefore, is what is mentioned here. He was from Philippi, and was a member of the church there. He had been employed by the Philippians to carry relief to Paul when he was in Rome Philippians 4:18, and while in Rome he was taken dangerously sick. News of this had been conveyed to Philippi, and again intelligence had been brought to him that they had heard of his sickness and that they were much affected by it. On his recovery, Paul thought it best that he should return at once to Philippi, and doubtless sent this Epistle by him. He is much commended by Paul for his faithfulness and zeal.
My brother - In the gospel; or brother Christian. These expressions of affectionate regard must have been highly gratifying to the Philippians.
And companion in labour - It is not impossible that he may have labored with Paul in the gospel, at Philippi; but more probably the sense is, that he regarded him as engaged in the same great work that he was. It is not probable that he assisted Paul much in Rome, as he appears to have been sick during a considerable part of the time he was there.
And fellow-soldier - Christians and Christian ministers are compared with soldiers Phm 1:2; 2 Timothy 2:3-4, because of the nature of the service in which they are engaged. The Christian life is a warfare; there are many foes to be overcome; the period which they are to serve is fixed by the Great Captain of salvation, and they will soon be permitted to enjoy the triumphs of victory. Paul regarded himself as enlisted to make war on all the spiritual enemies of the Redeemer, and he esteemed Epaphroditus as one who had shown that he was worthy to be engaged in so good a cause.
But your messenger - Sent to convey supplies to Paul; Philippians 4:18. The original is, “your apostle” - ὑμῶν δὲ ἀπόστολον humōn de apostolon - and some have proposed to take this literally, meaning that he was the apostle of the church at Philippi, or that he was their bishop. The advocates for Episcopacy have been the rather inclined to this, because in Philippians 1:1, there are but two orders of ministers mentioned - “bishops and deacons” - from which they have supposed that “the bishop” might have been absent, and that “the bishop” was probably this Epaphroditus. But against this supposition the objections are obvious:
(1) The word ἀπόστολος apostolos; means properly one sent forth, a messenger, and it is uniformly used in this sense unless there is something in the connection to limit it to an “apostle,” technically so called.
(2) The supposition that it here means a messenger meets all the circumstances of the case, and describes exactly what Epaphroditus did. He was in fact sent as a messenger to Paul; Philippians 4:18.
(3) He was not an apostle in the proper sense of the term - the apostles having been chosen to be witnesses of the life, the teachings, the death, and the resurrection of the Saviour; see Acts 1:22; compare the notes, 1 Corinthians 9:1.
(4) If he had been an apostle, it is altogether improbable that he would have seen sent on an errand comparatively so humble as that of carrying supplies to Paul. Was there no one else who could do this without sending their bishop? Would a diocese be likely to employ a “bishop” for such a purpose now?
And he that ministered to my wants - Philippians 4:18.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 25. Epaphroditus, my brother, c.] Here is a very high character of this minister of Christ he was,
1. A brother-one of the Christian family; a thorough convert to God, without which he could not have been a preacher of the Gospel.
2. He was a companion in labour; he laboured, and laboured in union with the apostle in this great work.
3. He was a fellow soldier; the work was a work of difficulty and danger, they were obliged to maintain a continual warfare, fighting against the world, the devil, and the flesh.
4. He was their apostle-a man whom God had honoured with apostolical gifts, apostolical graces, and apostolical fruits; and,
5. He was an affectionate friend to the apostle; knew his soul in adversity, acknowledged him in prison, and contributed to his comfort and support.
