While these are all great books, our only interest for this project is how often each letter is used.

1) In the Word file containing the Biblical text, use the "Find" feature to identify how many times each letter occurs (i.e. the letter's frequency).Make an Excel spreadsheet to display the number of occurrences of each letter in the English alphabet.(10 points)

2) In the Excel spreadsheet, sum your frequencies to compute the total number of letters in the 3 books (this is n).

a) In your spreadsheet, use the formula p =X/nto compute the sample proportion of each letter's appearances relative to total number of letters (i.e. find the relative frequency of each letter).Use the Excel sorting function to sort the letters in order of their frequencies.(6 points)

b) The simple Confidence Interval (CI) formula(p -1.96((p q )/n),p +1.96((p q )/n) to find a 95% CI on the proportion of how often each letter is used in English text in general.Enter the lower bound in the first Excel column (using p -1.96((p q )/n)) and the upper bound in the next column (usingp +1.96((p q )/n) ).(8 points)

3)Identify those letters where Cls do not overlap with any the CIs of any of the other letters.(For example the CI [0.042, 0.052] overlaps with [0.050, 0.060] because the upper bound of the first CI is greater than the lower bound of the second CI.)List the letters with the non-overlapping Cis and specify how many such letters there are.(6 points)

4) The previous analysis could be useful if our goal was to decipher an encrypted message, where each letter is scrambled (for example, each "a" might become a "g", while each "b" might become an "o" and so forth).

a) Assume that the letter "z" in encrypted message has a relative frequency of 0.09 (it accounts for 9% of the total number of letters).Which letter's Confidence Intervals from question 2 include 0.09 and thus are the most likely candidates to be the letter which was encrypted as "z"? (4 points)

b) Further assume that "y" in the encrypted message has a relative frequency of 0.055 (5.5%).Which letter's question 2 CIs include 0.055? (4 points)

c) If "x" in the encrypted message has a relative frequency of 0.025 (2.5%), which letter's question 2 CIs include 0.025? (4 points)

5) a) How many possible ways are there to assign actual letters of the text to the encrypted letters in a message? (Hint: "A" could be assigned to any one of the 26 letters, including itself.Once "A" has been assigned, "B" can be assigned to any letter except the letter that corresponds to "A").(4 points)

b) As your answer to part (a) makes clear, there are a super-high number of possible ways all the letters could be assigned.Knowing something about each letter's relative frequency dramatically reduces the number of likely combinations.For example, if there were only 3 possible options for each encrypted letter in the message, then how many possible ways would there be to assign real letters to the letter in the encrypted message?(4 points)

In the dayswhen the judges ruled there wasa famine in the land, and a man ofBethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.²The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They wereEphrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there.³But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons.⁴These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years,⁵and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

⁶Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab thattheLordhad visited his people andgiven them food.⁷So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.⁸But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May theLorddeal kindly with you, as you have dealt withthe dead and with me.⁹TheLord grant that you may findrest, each of you in the house of her husband!" Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.¹⁰And they said to her, "No, we will return with you to your people."¹¹But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my wombthat they may become your husbands?¹²Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons,¹³would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake thatthe hand of theLordhas gone out against me."¹⁴Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵And she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and toher gods; return after your sister-in-law."¹⁶But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge.Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.¹⁷Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried.May theLorddo so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you."¹⁸And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

¹⁹So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem,the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, "Is this Naomi?"²⁰She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call meMara,for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.²¹I went away full, and theLordhas brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when theLordhas testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?"

²²So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehemat the beginning of barley harvest.

2Now Naomi hada relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name wasBoaz.²And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the field andglean among the ears of grain after himin whose sight I shall find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."³So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.⁴And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers,"TheLordbe with you!" And they answered, "TheLordbless you."⁵Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?"⁶And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, "She is the young Moabite woman,who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.⁷She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest."

⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women.⁹Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn."¹⁰Thenshe fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you shouldtake notice of me, since I am a foreigner?"¹¹But Boaz answered her,"All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.¹²TheLordrepay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by theLord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!"¹³Then she said,"I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants."

¹⁴And at mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine." So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate untilshe was satisfied, and she had some left over.¹⁵When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.¹⁶And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her."

¹⁷So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephahof barley.¹⁸And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left overafter being satisfied.¹⁹And her mother-in-law said to her, "Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the manwho took notice of you." So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, "The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz."²⁰And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law,"May he be blessed by theLord, whose kindness has not forsakenthe living or the dead!" Naomi also said to her, "The man is a close relative of ours, one ofour redeemers."²¹And Ruth the Moabite said, "Besides, he said to me, 'You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'"²²And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted."²³So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seekrest for you, that it may be well with you?²Is not Boazour relative,with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.³Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.⁴But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do."⁵And she replied, "All that you say I will do."

⁶So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her.⁷And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, andhis heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.⁸At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!⁹He said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth, your servant.Spread your wingsover your servant, for you area redeemer."¹⁰And he said,"May you be blessed by theLord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater thanthe first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.¹¹And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you area worthy woman.¹²And now it is true that I ama redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.¹³Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he willredeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then,as theLordlives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning."

¹⁴So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, "Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor."¹⁵And he said, "Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out." So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.¹⁶And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "How did you fare, my daughter?" Then she told her all that the man had done for her,¹⁷saying, "These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, 'You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'"¹⁸She replied, "Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today."

Now Boaz had gone up tothe gate and sat down there. And behold,the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, "Turn aside, friend; sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down.²And he took ten menof the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.³Then he said to the redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.⁴So I thought I would tell you of it and say,'Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if youwill not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you." And he said, "I will redeem it."⁵Then Boaz said, "The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth^[b]the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in orderto perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance."⁶Then the redeemer said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it."

⁷Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.⁸So when the redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself," he drew off his sandal.⁹Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged toChilion and to Mahlon.¹⁰Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife,to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day."¹¹Then all the people who wereat the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. May theLordmake the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah,who togetherbuilt up the house of Israel. May you act worthily inEphrathah andbe renowned in Bethlehem,¹²and may your house be like the house of Perez,whom Tamar bore to Judah, becauseof the offspring that theLordwill give you by this young woman."

¹³So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her,and theLordgave her conception, and she bore a son.¹⁴Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be theLord, who has not left you this day withouta redeemer, and may his namebe renowned in Israel!¹⁵He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you,who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him."¹⁶Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.¹⁷And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁸Now these are the generations of Perez:Perez fathered Hezron,¹⁹Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab,²⁰Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,²¹Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,²²Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

Now the word of theLordcame toJonah the son of Amittai, saying,²"Arise, go toNineveh, thatgreat city, and call out against it,for their evilhas come up before me."³But Jonahrose to flee toTarshish from the presence of theLord. He went down toJoppa and found a ship going toTarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them toTarshish,away from the presence of theLord.

⁴ButtheLordhurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatenedto break up.⁵Then the mariners were afraid, andeach cried out to his god. Andthey hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.⁶So the captain came and said to him, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise,call out to your god!Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish."

⁷And they said to one another, "Come, let uscast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.⁸Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?"⁹And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I feartheLord, the God of heaven,who made the sea and the dry land."¹⁰Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For the men knew thathe was fleeing from the presence of theLord, because he had told them.

¹¹Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.¹²He said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you,for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you."¹³Nevertheless, the men rowed hardto get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.¹⁴Therefore they called out to theLord, "OLord, let us not perish for this man's life, andlay not on us innocent blood,for you, OLord, have done as it pleased you."¹⁵So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea,and the sea ceased from its raging.¹⁶Then the men feared theLordexceedingly,and they offered a sacrifice to theLordand made vows.

¹⁷And theLordappointeda great fish to swallow up Jonah.And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Then Jonah prayed to theLordhis God from the belly of the fish,²saying,

"I called out to theLord, out of my distress,

and he answered me;

out of the belly of Sheol I cried,

and you heard my voice.

³For you cast me into the deep,

into the heart of the seas,

and the flood surrounded me;

all your waves and your billows

passed over me.

⁴Then I said, 'I am driven away

from your sight;

yet I shall again look

upon your holy temple.'

⁵The waters closed in over meto take my life;

the deep surrounded me;

weeds were wrapped about my head

⁶at the roots of the mountains.

I went down to the land

whose bars closed upon me forever;

yet you brought up my life from the pit,

OLordmy God.

⁷When my life was fainting away,

I remembered theLord,

and my prayer came to you,

into your holy temple.

⁸Those who pay regard to vain idols

forsake their hope of steadfast love.

⁹But I with the voice of thanksgiving

will sacrifice to you;

what I have vowed I will pay.

Salvation belongs to theLord!"

¹⁰And theLordspoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Then the word of theLordcame to Jonah the second time, saying,²"Arise, go toNineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you."³So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of theLord. NowNineveh was an exceedingly great city,three days' journey in breadth.⁴Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"⁵And the people of Nineveh believed God.They called for a fast andput on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

⁶The word reachedthe king of Nineveh, andhe arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth,and sat in ashes.⁷And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh,"By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man norbeast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,⁸but let man andbeast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God.Let everyone turn from his evil way and fromthe violence that is in his hands.⁹Who knows? God may turn and relentand turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish."

¹⁰When God saw what they did,how they turned from their evil way,God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,andhe was angry.²And he prayed to theLordand said, "OLord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are agracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, andrelenting from disaster.³Therefore now, OLord, please take my life from me,for it is better for me to die than to live."⁴And theLordsaid,"Do you do well to be angry?"

⁵Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city andmade a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.⁶Now theLordGod appointed a plantand made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.⁷But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.⁸When the sun rose, God appointed a scorchingeast wind,and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that hewas faint. And he asked that he might die and said,"It is better for me to die than to live."⁹But God said to Jonah,"Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die."¹⁰And theLordsaid, "You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.¹¹And should not I pityNineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also muchcattle?"

Paul and Timothy, servantsof Christ Jesus,

To all thesaints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with theoverseersanddeacons:

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³I thank my Godin all my remembrance of you,⁴always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,⁵because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.⁶And I am sure of this, that he who begana good work in youwill bring it to completion atthe day of Jesus Christ.⁷It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold youin my heart, for you are allpartakers with me of grace,bothin my imprisonment and inthe defense and confirmation of the gospel.⁸ForGod is my witness,how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.⁹And it is my prayer thatyour love may abound more and more,with knowledge and all discernment,¹⁰so that you may approve what is excellent,and so be pure and blamelessfor the day of Christ,¹¹filledwith the fruit of righteousness that comesthrough Jesus Christ,to the glory and praise of God.

¹²I want you to know, brothers,that what has happened to me has reallyserved to advance the gospel,¹³so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guardandto all the rest thatmy imprisonment is for Christ.¹⁴And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more boldto speak the wordwithout fear.

¹⁵Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will.¹⁶The latter do it out of love,knowing that I am put here forthe defense of the gospel.¹⁷The former proclaim Christout of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Yes, and I will rejoice,¹⁹for I know thatthrough your prayers andthe help ofthe Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,²⁰as it is my eager expectation and hopethat I will not be at all ashamed, but that with fullcourage now as always Christwill be honored in my body,whether by life or by death.²¹For to meto live is Christ, and to die is gain.²²If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.²³I am hard pressed between the two. My desire isto depart andbe with Christ, for that is far better.²⁴But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.²⁵Convinced of this,I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for yourprogress andjoy in the faith,²⁶so that in meyou may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

²⁷Onlylet your manner of life beworthyof the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of youthat you are standing firm in one spirit, withone mindstriving side by side for the faith of the gospel,²⁸and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This isa clear sign to them of their destruction, butof your salvation, and that from God.²⁹Forit has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but alsosuffer for his sake,³⁰engaged in the sameconflict thatyou saw I had and now hear that I still have.

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort fromlove, anyparticipation in the Spirit, anyaffection and sympathy,²complete my joy by beingof the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.³Do nothing fromselfish ambition orconceit, but inhumility count others more significant than yourselves.⁴Let each of youlook not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.⁵Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,⁶who, though he was inthe form of God, did not count equality with Goda thing to be grasped,⁷butemptied himself, by taking the form of aservant,being born in the likeness of men.⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself bybecoming obedient to the point of death,even death on a cross.⁹ThereforeGod hashighly exalted him and bestowed on himthe name that is above every name,¹⁰so that at the name of Jesusevery knee should bow,in heaven and on earth and under the earth,¹¹andevery tongue confess that Jesus Christ isLord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²Therefore, my beloved,as you have alwaysobeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,¹³forit is God who works in you, both to will and to work forhis good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all thingswithout grumbling ordisputing,¹⁵that you may be blameless and innocent,children of Godwithout blemishin the midst ofa crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shineas lights in the world,¹⁶holding fast tothe word of life, so that inthe day of ChristI may be proud thatI did not run in vain or labor in vain.¹⁷Even if I am to bepoured out as a drink offering uponthe sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.¹⁸Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

¹⁹I hope in the Lord Jesusto send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you.²⁰For I have no onelike him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.²¹For they allseek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.²²But you know Timothy'sproven worth, howas a sonwith a fatherhe has served with me in the gospel.²³I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me,²⁴andI trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

²⁵I have thought it necessary to send to youEpaphroditus my brother and fellow worker andfellow soldier, and your messenger andminister to my need,²⁶for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.²⁷Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.²⁸I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.²⁹Soreceive him in the Lord with all joy, andhonor such men,³⁰for he nearly diedfor the work of Christ, risking his lifeto complete what was lacking in your service to me.

Finally, my brothers,rejoice in the Lord.To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

²Look out forthe dogs, look out forthe evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.³Forwe are the circumcision,who worshipby the Spirit of Godandglory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh⁴though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:⁵circumcised on the eighth day,of the people of Israel,of the tribe of Benjamin,a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law,a Pharisee;⁶as to zeal,a persecutor of the church;as to righteousness under the law,blameless.⁷Butwhatever gain I had,I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.⁸Indeed, I count everything as loss because ofthe surpassing worth ofknowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake Ihave suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ⁹and be found in him, not havinga righteousness of my own that comes from the law, butthat which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith¹⁰that I may know him andthe power of his resurrection, andmay share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,¹¹that by any means possible I mayattain the resurrection from the dead.

¹²Not that I have alreadyobtained this oram already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do:forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,¹⁴I press on toward the goal forthe prize of the upwardcall of God in Christ Jesus.¹⁵Let those of us who aremature think this way, and if in anythingyou think otherwise,God will reveal that also to you.¹⁶Onlylet us hold true to what we have attained.

¹⁷Brothers,join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walkaccording to the example you have in us.¹⁸Formany, of whom I have often told you and now tell youeven with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.¹⁹Their end is destruction,their god is their belly, andthey glory in their shame, withminds set on earthly things.²⁰Butour citizenship is in heaven, andfrom it weawait a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,²¹who will transformour lowly bodyto be like his glorious body,by the power that enables him evento subject all things to himself.

Therefore, my brothers,whom I love andlong for,my joy andcrown,stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

²I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche toagree in the Lord.³Yes, I ask you also, true companion,help these women, who have laboredside by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers,whose names are in the book of life.

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.⁵Let your reasonablenessbe known to everyone.The Lord is at hand;⁶do not be anxious about anything,but in everything by prayer and supplicationwith thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.⁷Andthe peace of God,which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.⁹What you have learnedandreceived and heard and seenin mepractice these things, andthe God of peace will be with you.

¹⁰I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at lengthyou have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.¹¹Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to becontent.¹²I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty andhunger, abundance andneed.¹³I can do all thingsthrough him who strengthens me.

¹⁴Yet it was kind of youto sharemy trouble.¹⁵And you Philippians yourselves know thatin the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia,no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.¹⁶Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.¹⁷Not that I seek the gift, but I seekthe fruit that increases to your credit.¹⁸I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied,having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent,a fragrant offering,a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.¹⁹And my Godwill supply every need of yoursaccording to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.²⁰Toour God and Father beglory forever and ever. Amen.

²¹Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.The brothers who are with me greet you.²²All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.

²³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.