concerning zeal, persecuting the assembly; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.
Parallel Translations
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concerning zeal, persecuting the assembly; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.
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and as concernynge fervetnes I perseuted the congregacion and as touchynge the rightewesnes which is in the lawe I was vnrebukable.
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Concerning zeale, I persecuted ye Church: touching the righteousnesse which is in the Law, I was vnrebukeable.
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to Philippians 3:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Galatians 1:13-14 For you have heard of my way of living in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the assembly of God and ravaged it. I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of my own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
- Acts 8:3 But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into every house and dragged both men and women off to prison.
- Acts 26:9-10 “I myself most certainly thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. I also did this in Jerusalem. I both shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death I gave my vote against them.
- Acts 22:3-4 “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
- Matthew 5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Acts 26:5 having known me from the first, if they are willing to testify, that after the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
- Romans 9:31-32 but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, didn’t arrive at the law of righteousness. Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone;
- 2 Kings 10:16 He said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for Yahweh.” So they made him ride in his chariot.
- Matthew 23:25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness.
- Mark 10:20-21 He said to him, “Teacher, I have observed all these things from my youth.” Jesus looking at him loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross.”
- Luke 1:6 They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
- Acts 21:20 They, when they heard it, glorified God. They said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.
- Romans 7:9 I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
- 1 Corinthians 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.
- Philippians 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith,
- 1 Timothy 1:13 although I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
- 2 Samuel 21:2 The king called the Gibeonites, and said to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the children of Israel had sworn to them; and Saul sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah);
- Acts 9:1-19 But Saul, still breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he traveled, he got close to Damascus, and suddenly a light from the sky shone around him. He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He said, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise up and enter into the city, then you will be told what you must do.” The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the sound, but seeing no one. Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one. They led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. He was without sight for three days, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!” He said, “Behold, it’s me, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Arise, and go to the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judah for one named Saul, a man of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying, and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him, that he might receive his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he did to your saints at Jerusalem. Here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go your way, for he is my chosen vessel to bear my name before the nations and kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” Ananias departed and entered into the house. Laying his hands on him, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he received his sight. He arose and was baptized. He took food and was strengthened. Saul stayed several days with the disciples who were at Damascus.
- Romans 10:2-5 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they didn’t subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the fulfillment of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness of the law, “The one who does them will live by them.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (17 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 6. As to the righteousness which is in the…
6. As to the righteousness which is in the law There can be no doubt he means by this the entire righteousness of the law, for it were too meagre a sense to understand it exclusively of the ceremonies. The meaning, therefore, is more general — that he cultivated an integrity of life, such as might be required on the part of a man that was devoted to the law. To this, again, it is objected, that the righteousness of the law is perfect in the sight of God. For the sum of it is — that men be fully devoted to God, and what beyond this can be desired for the attainment of perfection? I answer, that Paul speaks here of that righteousness which would satisfy the common opinion of mankind. For he separates the law from Christ. Now, what is the law without Christ but a dead letter? To make the matter plainer, I observe, that there are two righteousnesses of the law. The one is spiritual — perfect love to God, and our neighbors: it is contained in doctrine, and had never an existence in the life of any man. The other is literal — such as appears in the view of men, while, in the mean time, hypocrisy reigns in the heart, and there is in the sight of God nothing but iniquity. Thus, the law has two aspects; the one has an eye to God, the other to men. Paul, then, was in the judgment of men holy, and free from all censure — a rare commendation, certainly, and almost unrivalled; yet let us observe in what esteem he held it.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness…
6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Ver. 6. Concerning zeal] A blind misguided zeal. {See Trapp on "Rom 10:2"} If zeal be not qualified with knowledge all will be on fire, as the primum mobile, first easily swayed, they say, would be with its swift turning about, but for the countermotion of the lower spheres.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Concerning zeal; not lukewarm, but exceedingly fervent in the…
Concerning zeal; not lukewarm, but exceedingly fervent in the strictest observances of the Pharisaic order, which was much in external devotion, Luk 18:12, very solicitous for proselytes, Mat 23:15,25. Herein he was above his equals for years, being exceedingly zealous of the traditions of the fathers, Gal 1:14, (and his zeal had been very commendable had it been in a good matter, Gal 4:18), that which the false apostles contended much for.
Persecuting the church; which he showed all manner of ways in his rage against the church of Christ, conceived by the Pharisees to be opposite to the law of Moses, Act 9:1; 22:3,4; 26:9-12; Gal 1:13.
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Touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless; he rises higher yet in his personal obedience; he might have been a zealot in his sect, and yet a hypocrite, if not of a scandalous life; but it seems, in the external observation of those things which the ceremonial or moral law did prescribe, he was, in the eye of man, of a blameless conversation, resembling Zacharias and Elisabeth, Luk 1:6. Men could not tax him, he had behaved himself so conscientiously, Act 23:1; yet when he had his eyes opened, he found here was no such matter of confidence for him before God, 1Sa 16:7; 1Co 4:4. This external performance he found, when enlightened, was far short of internal and perfect obedience, Rom 7:7; and therefore he saw it necessary to change the ground and foundation of his confidence, all that he before rested on, unto Christ alone, 1Co 3:11; 2Co 5:17; not seeking to receive honour from men, but that from Christ only, Joh 5:44.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Concerning zeal, persecuting the church,.... The Vulgate Latin version…
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church,.... The Vulgate Latin version adds, "of God", as in Gal 1:13. The apostle was very zealous of the traditions of the elders, and for the law of God, and towards God also; though his zeal was not according to knowledge, but blind, ignorant, and furious; which pushed him on to persecute the followers of Christ, and the church of Christ at Jerusalem more especially, in a very violent and outrageous manner; he held the clothes of those that stoned Stephen, Act 7:58; he consented unto his death, Act 8:1; he made havoc of the church at Jerusalem, haling men and women to prison, Act 8:3; he continued breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of Christ, Act 9:1; gave his voice against them when put to death, punished them frequently in the synagogues by scourging them, Act 26:10, and compelled them to blaspheme the name of Christ; was exceeding mad against them, pursued them to strange cities, Act 26:11, and persecuted the church of God exceedingly, more than anyone single person besides,
Touching the righteousness which is in, the law, blameless. This he mentions last, as including the whole of his righteousness, civil, ceremonial, and moral; and which he fancied was so perfect, that whatever righteousness was in the law, or required by it, he had it, and to such a degree, that he was blameless before God and men; that he was justified by it in the sight of God, and could not justly be found fault with by any, or be charged with any defect in his obedience, either to the moral or ceremonial law; which must arise from great ignorance of the righteousness of God, and the strictness of his justice, and of the law of God, and the purity, spirituality, and extent of it, which reaches to the thoughts of the heart, and the first motions of sin; and of himself, the plague of his own heart, of the sin of lust, and of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, in every instance of it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Having such a zeal for it as to persecute…
Having such a zeal for it as to persecute to the death those who did not observe it. Touching the righteousness which is described and enjoined by the Law - That is, external observances, blameless.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. Concerning zeal] As to my zeal for…
Verse 6. Concerning zeal] As to my zeal for Pharisaism, I gave the fullest proof of it by persecuting the Church of Christ; and this is known to all my countrymen.
Touching the righteousness] And as to that plan of justification, which justification the Jews say is to be obtained by an observance of the law, I have done every thing so conscientiously from my youth up, that in this respect I am blameless; and may, with more confidence than most of them; expect that justification which the law appears to promise.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Php 3:6. Concerning zeal — For the law and…
Php 3:6. Concerning zeal — For the law and the Jewish religion, and for all those ritual observances which they so eagerly enforce, I myself was once so earnest, that I persecuted, and that even to imprisonment and death, those who did not observe them. Touching the righteousness which is in the law — Which is described and enjoined by the letter of it; that is, with respect to external observances; blameless — Quite unexceptionable in my conduct; so that those who knew me most intimately, could not have accused me of any wilful transgression, or of neglecting any of those expiatory rites and sacrifices, which were appointed to be used in case of involuntary errors. “The greatest part of the Jews firmly believed that the righteousness required in the law consisted chiefly in observing its ritual precepts. And therefore, if a person was circumcised, offered the appointed sacrifices, observed the sabbaths, and other festivals enjoined by Moses, made the necessary purifications, in cases of pollution, paid tithes of all he possessed, and abstained from crimes injurious to society; or if he committed any such, was punished for them according to the law, he was, as the apostle expresseth it, with respect to the righteousness which is by law, unblameable. Further, as the ritual services enjoined in the law were not founded in the nature of things, but in the command of God; and as, according to the law, atonement was made for some transgressions by these services, they were, on account of their being done from a regard to the divine will, considered as acts of piety more acceptable to God than even the performance of moral duties. In the third place, as these ritual services were both numerous and burdensome, and recurred so frequently, that they gave almost constant employment to the pious Israelites, the diligent and exact performance of them was thought equivalent to a perfect righteousness, and so meritorious, that it entitled the performer to justification and eternal life. All these erroneous opinions Paul entertained while he continued a Pharisee. But he relinquished them when he became a Christian, as he informs us, immediately.” — Macknight.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Concerning zeal, persecuting the church - Showing the greatness…
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church - Showing the greatness of my zeal for the religion which I believed to be true, by persecuting those whom I considered to be in dangerous error. Zeal was supposed to be, as it is, an important part of religion; see 2Ki 10:16; Psa 69:9; Psa 119:139; Isa 59:17; Rom 10:2. Paul says that he had shown the highest degree of zeal that was possible. He had gone so far in his attachment for the religion of his fathers, as to pursue with purposes of death those who had departed from it, and who had embraced a different form of belief. If any, therefore, could hope for salvation on the ground of extraordinary devotedness to religion, he said that he could.
Touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless - So far as the righteousness which can be obtained by obeying the law is concerned. It is not needful to suppose here that he refers merely to the ceremonial law; but the meaning is, that he did all that could be done to obtain salvation by the mere observance of law. It was supposed by the Jews, and especially by the Pharisees, to which sect he belonged, that it was possible to be saved in that way; and Paul says that he had done all that was supposed to be necessary for that. We are not to imagine that, when he penned this declaration, he meant to be understood as saying that he had wholly complied with the law of God; but that, before his conversion, he supposed that he had done all that was necessary to be done in order to be saved by the observance of law he neglected no duty that he understood it to enjoin. He was not guilty of deliberately violating it.
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He led a moral and strictly upright life, and no one had occasion to “blame” or to accuse him as a violator of the law of God. There is every reason to believe that Paul, before his conversion, was a young man of correct deportment, of upright life, of entire integrity; and that he was free from the indulgences of vice and passion, into which young people often fall. In all that he ever says of himself as being “the chief of sinners,” and as being “unworthy to be called an apostle,” he never gives the least intimation that his early life was stained by vice, or corrupted by licentious passions. On the contrary, we are left to the fair presumption that, if any man could be saved by his own works, he was that man. This fact should be allowed to make its proper impression on those who are seeking salvation in the same way; and they should be willing to inquire whether they may not be deceived in the matter, as he was, and whether they are not in as much real danger in depending on their own righteousness, as was this most upright and zealous young man.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Concerning--Translate as before and after, "As touching Zeal" (compare…
Concerning--Translate as before and after, "As touching Zeal" (compare Act 22:3; Act 26:9).
blameless--Greek, "having become blameless" as to ceremonial righteousness: having attained in the eyes of man blameless legal perfection. As to the holiness before God, which is the inner and truest spirit of the law, and which flows from "the righteousness of God by faith," he on the contrary declares (Phi 3:12-14) that he has not attained perfection.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. Concerning… touching, and touching of Php_3:5, should have…
6. Concerning… touching, and touching of Php_3:5, should have the same translation, meaning as regards, or in respect of. His zeal for the law was shown by his career as a persecutor, when, to save its supremacy, he gave all his energies to the destruction of the Church.
Righteousness—In the rightness, the right conduct, which consisted in observance of the law, he was perfect. Such he was down to the period of his journey to Damascus. All this is said from his old Judaic point of view; and assuredly if there was any value in scrupulous obedience, in persecuting zeal, and in rigorous, unvarying fidelity, it was his. But his estimate of things has now greatly changed; and his persecution of the Church in which he had once gloried he has come to regard as his greatest sin.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. zeal] “of God, but not according to true…
6. zeal] “of God, but not according to true spiritual knowledge (epignôsis),” Rom_10:2. Cp. Act_26:9-11. He implies here that this “zeal” was perfectly sincere, though sinfully conditioned by a moral blindness. See in this connexion Act_23:1; 2Ti_1:3.
persecuting the church] Cp. 1Co_15:9; Gal_1:13; Gal_1:23; 1Ti_1:13.
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the righteousness which is in the law] Lit., again, “in law”; see fifth note on Php_3:5. The reference is to completeness of observance and privilege, from the point of view of the Pharisaic legalist. The most rigid inquisitor in this direction could not have found fault with Paul’s title. See further on Php_3:3.—“In (the) law”:—included within its terms.
blameless] Better, with R.V., found blameless, a good paraphrase of the Greek, which is literally, “having become blameless.”
His title, or temptation, to “confidence in the flesh” was thus compounded of a natal right to the seal of the covenant; hereditary and educated loyalty to the purest Jewish life and practice; personal devotion to the strictest Jewish religionism; the utmost practical energy in its defence; the most minute attention to its rules. Of its kind, the position was perfect.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (6) Concerning zeal, persecuting the church.—The word “zeal” (as…
(6) Concerning zeal, persecuting the church.—The word “zeal” (as in Act_22:3) is probably used almost technically to describe his adhesion to the principles of the “Zealots,” who, following the example of Phinehas, were for “executing judgment” at once on all heathens as traitors, ready alike to slay or to be slain for the Law. He shows how in this he departed from the teaching of Gamaliel, when he was “exceedingly mad against” the Christians, and “persecuted them even unto strange cities.”
Touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.—The “righteousness in Law,” which our Lord called “the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” (Mat_5:20), is the righteousness according to rule, in which a man, like the rich young ruler, might think himself “blameless,” and even hope to go beyond it in “counsels of perfection”—not the righteousness according to principle, which can never fulfil or satisfy itself. While St. Paul confined himself to the lower form of righteousness, he could feel himself “blameless;” but when he began to discern this higher righteousness in the Law, then, he felt the terrible condemnation of the Law, on which he dwells so emphatically in Rom_7:7-12.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Concerning zeal, persecuting the Church. He was not only…
Concerning zeal, persecuting the Church. He was not only a Pharisee, but an energetic, zealous Pharisee; he carried out the principles of his sect, thinking that he did God service by persecuting those whom he counted as heretics. Touching the righteousness which is in the Law, blameless. As far as "the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees" went, the righteousness which is "in Law," which consists, that is, in the observance of formal rules; or which is "of Law" (ver. 9), which springs, that is, from such observance, St. Paul was found blameless. "Rara sane laus et prope singularis," says Calvin, quoted by Alford; "videamus tureen quanti eam fecerit." (For the whole of this passage, comp. 2Co_11:21, 2Co_11:22)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 6. Concerning zeal. His zeal for Judaism was demonstrated…
6. Concerning zeal. His zeal for Judaism was demonstrated by the fact that he was a persecutor of the church. What were his feelings concerning this part of his career in shown in 1 Tim. 1:13–16. Blameless. Keeping the letter of the law so as to be blameless in the eyes of my fellow-Jews.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain (See Scofield "Rom 10:3").
righteousness
(See Scofield "Rom 10:3").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 As for zeal, I persecuted the church
As for zeal, I persecuted the church
Paul says here that he had been very eager to punish people for following Christ. "I was very determined to hurt Christian believers"
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as for righteousness under the law, I was blameless
"I obeyed the law completely"
whatever things were a profit for me
Paul is referring here to the praise he received for being an eager Pharisee. He speaks of this praise as if he had viewed it in the past as a businessman's profit. AT: "anything that other Jews praised me for" (See: Metaphor)
profit ... loss
These are common business terms. If many people in your culture do not understand formal business terms, you could translate these terms as "things that made my life better" and "things that made my life worse."
I have considered them as loss
Paul speaks of that praise as if he were now viewing it as a business loss instead of a profit. In other words, Paul says that all his religious acts of righteousness are worthless before Christ. (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
zeal
persecute
church
righteous
law
blameless
Christ
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:6 I harshly persecuted the church (see Acts 8:1-3;…
3:6 I harshly persecuted the church (see Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-2, 21; Gal 1:13): His actions demonstrated his zeal for Judaism, to which the Good News of Jesus was seen as a threat. • Paul’s righteousness, as judged by human standards, was another indication of his zeal for the law (see also Gal 1:14; for Paul’s later Christian view, cp. Rom 3:23; 7:14-25).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.