Limitless Word
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
  • KJV Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
  • NKJV Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
  • NASB do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
  • NLT Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

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

Look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. Love attends to others' needs, not just one's own.

Overview

Paul does not forbid all care for one's own affairs but insists it must not be the whole story. Genuine community requires actively seeking the good of others. This other-centered concern is the practical shape of the humility just commanded.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • 1 Cor 10:24No one should seek his own good, but the good of others.
  • Rom 15:1We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
  • Jas 2:8If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
  • 1 Cor 13:4–5Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
  • 1 Cor 10:32–33Do not become a stumbling block, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God—
  • Rom 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
  • 1 Cor 12:22–26On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
  • Rom 14:19–22So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
  • 1 Cor 8:9–13Be careful, however, that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
  • 2 Cor 11:29Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with grief?
  • 2 Cor 6:3We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no one can discredit our ministry.
  • Matt 18:6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 2:4YouTube · 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 2:4 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.