Paul's Trust
Philippians 2:24
I trust can also be rendered “I am confident” (NEB NAB). The verb used is a strong one, carrying the components of confidence, reliance, and hope. The ground of this confidence and hope is in the Lord Every mood of Paul’s life is regulated by the will of the Lord. I trust has here the force of “if the Lord wills it” (Brc; cf. 1 Cor 4:19). It is only in the Lord that the apostle can look ahead with confidence, and with this confidence he says I myself will be able to come to you soon, that is, to follow soon after Timothy.
For the translation of I trust in the Lord, see the similar phrase in verse 19. In this context, in the Lord may suggest either the agency of the confidence, for example, “the Lord has given me confidence that”; or the condition for the content of what is believed or hoped, for example, “I trust that, if it is the Lord’s will, I myself will be able to come to you soon.”
Languages differ rather radically in the so-called “locative viewpoint” for the use of verbs such as “come” and “go.” In this context Paul is speaking as though from the standpoint of the people at Philippi, that is, their viewpoint when they hear Paul’s letter, and so he can appropriately use “come.” However, in some languages it is necessary to maintain the viewpoint of the writer, and therefore it is necessary to say “to go to you soon.”
Loh, I-Jin, and Eugene Albert Nida. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. New York: United Bible Societies, 1995. Print. UBS Handbook Series.
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