Verse Lens · Context pointer
Philippians 2:27 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 27. 27For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
His illness was genuinely near death, and Paul interprets his recovery as God's mercy rather than denial of danger.
Read It With
- Philippians 2:25–30
Read verses 25–30 together. Verse 27 confirms that the illness was near death and interprets recovery as mercy before Paul explains Epaphroditus's return and deserved honor.
Why It Needs Context
Verse 27 reports mercy in one dangerous illness; the surrounding account prevents it from becoming a formula that every illness must end in recovery.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Philippians 2:25–30 — Honor Epaphroditus's Costly ServiceSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The KJV wording and immediate English context for Philippians 2:25–30.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Philippians 2; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording and punctuation used as the base text for this passage.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Phil.txt, Philippians 2, verses within Philippians 2:25–30.
Open the Philippians Greek text file ↗