Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G Messagewho, though He existed in the very nature of God, did not treat His equality with God as a privilege to be leveraged for His own gain,
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.Gwho, subsisting in the very form of Elohim, did not regard equality with Elohim as an advantage to be exploited,
KJV
King James VersionWho, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
BSB
Berean Standard BibleWho, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
Footnotes
Two landmark translation decisions. μορφή ("very form" / "very nature") denotes the essential, defining character of a thing—not outward appearance (that is σχῆμα, used in v.7). ὑπάρχων ("subsisting" / "existed") is a stronger term than εἶναι—it conveys prior, continuous existence. The most contested phrase in the hymn, ἁρπαγμόν ἡγεῖσθαι τι: following the scholarly consensus of Hoover and Wright, this idiom means "to regard something as an advantage to exploit"—treating what one already possesses as a resource for self-aggrandisement. The older KJV reading ("thought it not robbery") misread it as something not yet seized; the hymn's logic requires He already possessed divine equality before His descent, making exploitation, not seizure, the rejected option.
