The actual verse
Philippians 4:13 in the BSB:
I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.
In the KJV (1769):
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
The two renderings differ on whether the pronoun “him” or the proper noun “Christ” appears in the verse. This is a textual question — the manuscripts of the Greek New Testament disagree at this point — not a question of theology.
How the verse circulates
Philippians 4:13 is among the most-quoted verses in athletic and motivational settings. It appears on sports apparel, motivational posters, and tattoo art, and in graduation speeches and locker-room talks; Tim Tebow displayed the reference in his eye black during NFL games. In these settings the verse is generally quoted alone, without the two verses that precede it.
The surrounding passage
The verse appears at the close of Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, written from imprisonment (Philippians 1:13), in a section where Paul thanks the Philippians for a financial gift they sent him. The full immediate context (Philippians 4:10–13, BSB):
10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.
11 I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.
12 I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation — to being filled and being hungry, to having plenty and having need.
13 I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.
The surrounding verses describe Paul’s experience of fluctuating material circumstances — being filled and hungry, having plenty and having need — and his learned response of contentment in each. The phrase “all things” (Greek panta) follows immediately after this list; commentators commonly identify the listed circumstances as its point of reference, while popular usage often applies the phrase to endeavors and goals more broadly.
Original language
The Greek of the verse, in modern critical editions (Nestle-Aland 28th edition, United Bible Societies 5th edition):
πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με
Literally: “I am strong [in] all things in the one who strengthens me.”
The Textus Receptus, on which the KJV is based, has an additional phrase ἐν Χριστῷ (“in Christ”):
πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν Χριστῷ τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με
The added words do not appear in the earliest manuscripts (e.g., Papyrus 46, Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus, Codex Alexandrinus). Modern translations follow the older manuscripts and render the verse without “Christ” as the explicit noun, while the KJV and NKJV preserve the Textus Receptus reading.
The two verbs
The verb ἰσχύω (ischyō), usually translated “I can,” is glossed by BDAG as “to be strong, powerful, able.” It describes capacity or strength, and is used elsewhere in the New Testament of being physically able or strong enough for a task (e.g., Mark 9:18; Matthew 8:28).
The participle ἐνδυναμοῦντί (endynamounti) is from ἐνδυναμόω (endynamoō), “to make strong, to empower” (BDAG) — built from en (in) plus a verb derived from δύναμις (dynamis, power), the root of the English words “dynamic,” “dynamo,” and “dynamite.” The participle is present tense, describing an ongoing action — “the one strengthening me” — rather than a completed gift.
In verse 12, the verb rendered “I am accustomed” (BSB) or “I am instructed” (KJV) is μεμύημαι (memyēmai), “I have learned the secret” — a verb associated in wider Greek usage with initiation; several modern translations render the clause “I have learned the secret” of contentment.
Read on Bible1.org
Read the full chapter on our companion site: Philippians 4 on Bible1.org → — BSB text in context, all verses.