Philippians 3:13 — Bible Verse Meaning & Context

Philippians 3:13 reads: "Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before," — from the New Testament, Philippians (Pauline epistle). The full verse is shown above with both the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV) translations side by side.

Philippians 3:13 is in the book of Philippians, traditionally attributed to Paul and written around c. 61–62 AD. Philippians is pauline epistle in the New Testament, originally addressed to The church at Philippi — Paul's most affectionate relationship. Best known for "I can do all things through Christ" and the Christ-hymn (2:5-11).

Philippians 3:13 is primarily a Bible verse about Hope. Within Philippians, Philippians is Paul's joy-saturated thank-you letter from prison. Read the full passage above with surrounding context.

Philippians 3:13 in the World English Bible (WEB) reads: "Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before,". The King James Version (KJV) reads: "Brethren80, I1473 count3049 not3756 myself1683 to have apprehended2638: but1161 this one thing1520 I do, forgetting1950 those things3303 which are behind3694, and1161 reaching forth unto1901 those things which are before1715,". The WEB is a modern public-domain translation that updates the KJV's 1611 English while keeping a similar formal-equivalence style. Both render the same underlying Greek or Hebrew text.

Philippians 3:13 is 30 words in the WEB translation (172 characters), broken into 5 clauses. It is a longer verse, often broken into smaller phrases for memorisation. Estimated reading time is about 9 seconds.

To memorise Philippians 3:13, split it into its 5 natural clauses and learn one at a time. Repeat the full verse out loud five times, then write it from memory. Saving the verse as a photo wallpaper using our verse image studio helps daily review — the visual association with a memorable background dramatically improves recall.

Philippians is Paul's joy-saturated thank-you letter from prison. It contains the great Christ-hymn (2:5-11) describing his self-emptying and exaltation, the call to rejoice always (4:4), the secret of contentment "in any and every situation" (4:11-13), and the assurance that "he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion" (1:6). Philippians 3:13 sits within this larger story — Philippians as a whole emphasises joy, humility, partnership.

Many readers use Philippians 3:13 as a daily reminder verse — saving it as a phone wallpaper, sharing it on Pinterest, or memorising it for prayer. The verse studio on this page lets you download Philippians 3:13 on 52 different backgrounds for free. Pair the verse with the surrounding chapter context shown above to understand its full meaning before applying it.