21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. 23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: 24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. 25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; 26 That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

25 Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. 26 And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.

21 To me the only important thing about living is Christ, and dying would be profit for me. 22 If I continue living in my body, I will be able to work for the Lord. I do not know what to choose—living or dying. 23 It is hard to choose between the two. I want to leave this life and be with Christ, which is much better, 24 but you need me here in my body. 25 Since I am sure of this, I know I will stay with you to help you grow and have joy in your faith. 26 You will be very happy in Christ Jesus when I am with you again.

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if to live in the flesh,—if this shall bring fruit from my work, then what I shall choose I know not. 23 But I am in a strait betwixt the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ; for it is very far better: 24 yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for your sake. 25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide, yea, and abide with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith; 26 that your glorying may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again.

21 For for me to live is Christ, and to die gain; 22 but if to live in flesh is my lot, this is for me worth the while: and what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 But I am pressed by both, having the desire for departure and being with Christ, for it is very much better, 24 but remaining in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes; 25 and having confidence of this, I know that I shall remain and abide along with you all, for your progress and joy in faith; 26 that your boasting may abound in Christ Jesus through me by my presence again with you.

21 Christ means everything to me in this life, and when I die I’ll have even more. 22 If I continue to live in this life, my work will produce more results. I don’t know which I would prefer. 23 I find it hard to choose between the two. I would like to leave this life and be with Christ. That’s by far the better choice. 24 But for your sake it’s better that I remain in this life. 25 Since I’m convinced of this, I know that I will continue to live and be with all of you. This will help you to grow and be joyful in your faith. 26 So by coming to you again, I want to give you even more reason to have pride in Christ Jesus with me. 

21 For me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. 23 I am pressured by both. I have the desire to depart and be with Christ —which is far better — 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. 25 Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that, because of me, your confidence may grow in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.

21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23 I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. 25 Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, 26 so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.

21 For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 But if it is to live in the flesh, this is fruitful work for me, and which I will prefer I do not know. 23 But I am hard pressed between the two options, having the desire to depart and to be with Christ, for this is very much better. 24 But to stay on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25 And because I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that what you can be proud of may increase in Christ Jesus because of me through my return again to you.

21 For me, life finds all of its meaning in Christ. Death also has its benefits.

22 Suppose I go on living in my body. Then I will be able to carry on my work. It will bear a lot of fruit. But what should I choose? I don’t know. 23 I can’t decide between the two. I long to leave this world and be with Christ. That is better by far.

24 But it is more important for you that I stay alive. 25 I’m sure of that. So I know I will remain with you. And I will continue with all of you to help you grow and be joyful in what you have been taught. 26 I’m sure I will be with you again. Then your joy in Christ Jesus will be greater than ever because of me.

21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.

23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;

24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

26 so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.