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Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Philippians 2:4 · New Living Translation
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.
  • BSB Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests 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.

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 10:24Let no one seek his own, but each one his neighbor’s good.
  • Rom 15:1Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
  • Jas 2:8However, if you fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.
  • 1 Cor 13:4–5Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,
  • 1 Cor 10:32–33Give no occasion for stumbling, either to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the assembly of God;
  • Rom 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
  • 1 Cor 12:22–26No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.
  • Rom 14:19–22So then, let us follow after things which make for peace, and things by which we may build one another up.
  • 1 Cor 8:9–13But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak.
  • 2 Cor 11:29Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is caused to stumble, and I don’t burn with indignation?
  • 2 Cor 6:3We give no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our service may not be blamed,
  • Matt 18:6but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him that a huge millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk 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.