Philemon 1
1 Paul, prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timotheus the brother, to Philemon the beloved and our fellow-workman,
From Paul, now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, a fellow follower of the Lord.
2 and to the sister Apphia and to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the assembly which [is] in thine house.
To our dear friend and fellow worker Philemon, to our sister Apphia, to our fellow soldier Archippus; and to the church that meets at Philemon’s house;
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and [the] Lord Jesus Christ.
may God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace.
4 I thank my God, always making mention of thee at my prayers,
I always mention you in my prayers and thank God for you,
5 hearing of thy love and the faith which thou hast towards the Lord Jesus, and towards all the saints,
because I hear of the love and the faith which you show, not only to the Lord Jesus, but also to all his people;
6 in such sort that thy participation in the faith should become operative in the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in us towards Christ [Jesus].
and I pray that your participation in the faith may result in action, as you come to a fuller realization of everything that is good and Christlike in us.
7 For we have great thankfulness and encouragement through thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.
I have indeed found great joy and encouragement in your love, knowing, as I do, how the hearts of Christ’s people have been cheered, friend, by you.
8 Wherefore having much boldness in Christ to enjoin thee what is fitting,
And so, though my union with Christ enables me, with all confidence, to dictate the course that you should adopt,
9 for love's sake I rather exhort, being such a one as Paul the aged, and now also prisoner of Jesus Christ.
yet the claims of love make me prefer to plead with you – yes, even me, Paul, though I am an ambassador for Christ Jesus and, now a prisoner for him as well.
10 I exhort thee for my child, whom I have begotten in [my] bonds, Onesimus,
I plead with you for this child of mine, Onesimus, to whom, in my prison, I have become a father.
11 once unserviceable to thee, but now serviceable to thee and to me:
Once he was of little service to you, but now he has become of great service, not only to you, but to me as well;
12 whom I have sent back to thee: [but do thou receive] him, that is, my bowels:
and I am sending him back to you with this letter – though it is like tearing out of my heart.
13 whom I was desirous of keeping with myself, that for thee he might minister to me in the bonds of the glad tidings;
For my own sake I should like to keep him with me, so that, while I am in prison for the good news, he might attend to my wants on your behalf.
14 but I have wished to do nothing without thy mind, that thy good might not be as of necessity but of willingness:
But I do not wish to do anything without your consent, because I want your generosity to be voluntary and not, as it were, compulsory.
15 for perhaps for this reason he has been separated [from thee] for a time, that thou mightest possess him fully for ever; (aiōnios g166)
It may be that he was separated from you for an hour, for this reason, so that you might have him back for ever, (aiōnios g166)
16 not any longer as a bondman, but above a bondman, a beloved brother, specially to me, and how much rather to thee, both in [the] flesh and in [the] Lord?
no longer as a slave, but as something better – a dearly loved friend and follower of the Lord, especially dear to me, and how much more so to you, not only as a person, but as your fellow Christian!
17 If therefore thou holdest me to be a partner [with thee], receive him as me;
If, then, you count me your friend, receive him as you would me.
18 but if he have wronged thee anything or owe anything [to thee], put this to my account.
If he has caused you any loss, or owes you anything, charge it to me.
19 I Paul have written [it] with mine own hand; I will repay [it]: that I say not to thee that thou owest even thine own self also to me.
I, Paul, put my own hand to it – I will repay you myself. I say nothing about your owing me your self.
20 Yea, brother, I would have profit of thee in [the] Lord: refresh my bowels in Christ.
Yes, friend, let me gain something from you because of your union with the Lord. Cheer my heart by your Christlike spirit.
21 Being confident of thine obedience, I have written to thee, knowing that thou wilt do even more than I say.
Even as I write, I have such confidence in your compliance with my wishes, that I am sure that you will do even more than I am asking.
22 But withal prepare me also a lodging; for I hope that I shall be granted to you through your prayers.
Please also get a lodging ready for me, for I hope that I will be given back to you all in answer to your prayers.
23 Epaphras salutes thee, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus;
Epaphras, who is my fellow prisoner for Christ Jesus, sends you his greeting;
24 Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow-workmen.
and Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers, send theirs.
25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with your spirit.
May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ rest on your souls.
