What Does Philippians 4:5 Mean?
Let your yielding be known to all humankind. The Lord is near.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.THE KEY
The gentleness translated as moderation is meant to be recognizable to everyone, held beside the reality that the Lord is near.
THE MEANING
Your gentleness is a fair-minded way of meeting other people that does not press every claim to its limit. It is meant to be visible to everyone, not kept as a private intention. The Lord is near: the phrase can carry both closeness and imminence.
THE ROOT
ἐπιεικές
epieikes
GROWS FROM
ἐπιεικ-
epieik-
Fitting, fair, and considerate; a gentleness that takes the situation into account.
“yielding” in this verse is epieikes. The word carries more than restraint: it suggests fairness that does not insist on the strictest possible claim. The verse presents that quality as something other people can recognize.
ALSO GROWS
epieikeia: Fairness, gentleness, or clemency
ἐπιείκεια
This related noun shows the quality as a way of treating others, not simply a limit placed on oneself.
epieikōs: Gently, fairly, or reasonably
ἐπιεικῶς
The related adverb makes the quality visible in how a person responds.
γνωσθήτω
gnōsthētō
GROWS FROM
γνω-
gnō-
Know, recognize, or perceive.
The form means “let it be known” or “let it be recognized.” Gentleness here is not only inward character; it becomes legible in the presence of other people.
ALSO GROWS
gnōsis: Knowledge or recognition
γνῶσις
The related word points to awareness: this quality comes into view and can be recognized.
gnōstos: Known or familiar
γνωστός
This branch echoes the verse’s emphasis on a quality becoming known beyond the self.
ἐγγύς
engys
GROWS FROM
ἐγγυ-
engyu-
Near, close, or at hand.
“near” in this verse is engys. The Greek word can describe nearness of place or nearness in time. The verse holds the Lord’s closeness beside a gentleness that is visible in present relationships.
ALSO GROWS
engizō: Draw near or approach
ἐγγίζω
The verb makes nearness active: someone or something comes close.
engytēs: Nearness or proximity
ἐγγύτης
This noun names the state of being close, opening the phrase beyond a mere expression of time.
THE PATTERN
The Lord’s nearness is held alongside a gentleness that takes public form in how people meet one another.
A soft answer turns away the burning, but words of pain stir up the nostrils.Now I, Paul myself, urge you through the gentleness and yielding of the Anointed One, I who am low face to face among you, but when absent am bold toward you.You also, be slow to heat, and steady your hearts, for the arrival of the LORD has drawn near.THE THREAD
You also, be slow to heat, and steady your hearts, for the arrival of the LORD has drawn near.Philippians uses ἐγγύς (engys, near); James uses ἤγγικεν (ēngiken, has drawn near), from ἐγγίζω (engizō, draw near). James makes the nearness sound like an approaching event, while Philippians places it beside gentleness that everyone can see.
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