Closer look

    Sometimes people don't get satisfied anything in life. "The reason why [they] don't get satisfied is ...because [they] did [something] to become better than others, because [their] goal is to become better than others..."1

    Comparing oneself to others is not the Christian reality towards the community Paul wants to educate the people of Philippi. Philippians 2:3's rendition from various translations pertains to the instruction or the command for the person to be humble.

"... Rather, in humility value others above yourselves"2 (NIV). - value
"... Be humble, thinking others as better than yourselves"2 (NLT). - thinking
"... but in humility count others..."2 (ESV). - count
"... but with humility consider one another..."2 (NASB). - consider

    These words are from the Greek word "ἡγούμενοι" which literally means "to govern"3 and it is also a participle. The four examples above are usually the most common versions people used are not technically wrong interpretations but it might be perhaps far from the literal translations as far as the Greek morphology is concern.

    Those examples have notions of being a command or instruction given by Paul. It would make sense for the English translators to show it giving a command because in the previous verse it started of with a command "then make my joy complete... (NIV)". This is the only time the imperative form of Greek is used in the section.

    ASV-TH sheds light to a closer translation from the Greek text, "but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself;"3. Though the word "counting" is still used, I'd prefer this translation because instead of just focusing to a certain individual it refers to the broader community by the helping word "each". It also pertains to the reality of valuing others better than themselves.

    The key word is sticking with the word "to govern" instead of any other English translations. It refers to the ethos and culture that Paul envisions to the community at Philippi. His mood is more descriptive rather than instructive. It has transformed to be instructive because of the starting word on the previous verse.


Footnotes:

1 Durante, Dennis. The Book of Haggai, Week 2. Sermon at ENCM, Mississauga, ON, May 1, 2022.
2 Biblehub. https://biblehub.com/philippians/2-3.htm (Accessed on May 20, 2022)
3 Stepbible. https://www.stepbible.org/?q=reference=Phil.2|version=NIV|version=ASV-TH|version=SBLG&options=GVUVNH&display=COLUMN(Accessed on May 20, 2022)

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