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For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:8 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For God is my witness, how I long after all of you in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus.
  • BSB God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
  • NKJV For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.
  • NASB For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
  • NLT God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Paul calls God to witness how deeply he longs for them with Christ's own affection. His love is more than sentiment; it is shaped by Christ.

Overview

The phrase "tender mercies of Christ Jesus" pictures a love welling up from the very heart of Christ. Paul's longing is not merely personal feeling but the compassion of Jesus flowing through him. To love fellow believers is to share in Christ's own affections.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 22

  • Rom 1:9For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
  • Phil 4:1Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
  • 2 Tim 1:4Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
  • 1 Th 2:8So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.
  • Rom 9:1I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
  • Col 2:1For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;
  • Phlm 1:12Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:
  • Jer 31:20Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.
  • 2 Cor 6:12Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.
  • Luke 1:78Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
  • 2 Cor 7:15And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.
  • Gal 4:19My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
  • Gal 1:20Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.
  • Isa 16:11Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.
  • Isa 63:15Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?
  • 2 Cor 13:9For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.
  • Phil 2:26For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.
  • Phil 2:1If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
  • Phlm 1:20Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.
  • 1 Th 2:5For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:
  • 1 Jn 3:17But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
  • Col 3:12Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Philippians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Philippians 1:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PhilippiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The one who, being in the form of God, emptied himself to the point of death on a cross and was exalted to the name above every name — the joy and prize of the believer.

How Philippians 1:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.