Philemon 1
1 From Paul, now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, a fellow follower of the Lord.
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy the brother, to Philemon our beloved and co-workman,
2 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;
and to the beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the congregation at thy house:
3 may God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always mention you in my prayers and thank God for you,
I thank my God, making recollection of thee always in my prayers,
5 because I hear of the love and the faith which you show, not only to the Lord Jesus, but also to all his people;
hearing of thy love and faith, which thou have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the sanctified,
6 and I pray that your participation in the faith may result in action, as you come to a fuller realisation of everything that is good and Christlike in us.
so that the fellowship of thy faith may become potent (in the knowledge of every good thing in us) for Christ Jesus.
7 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.
For we have much joy and encouragement in thy love, because the bowels of the sanctified have been refreshed by thee, brother.
8 And so, though my union with Christ enables me, with all confidence, to dictate the course that you should adopt,
Therefore, though I have much boldness in Christ to command thee that which is befitting,
9 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.
because of love I rather beseech, being such as aged Paul, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
10 I plead with you for this child of mine, Onesimus, to whom, in my prison, I have become a father.
I beseech thee for my child Onesimus, whom I begot in my bonds.
11 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;
A man formerly unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable to thee and to me, whom I sent back.
12 and I am sending him back to you with this letter – though it is like tearing out of my heart.
And thou should welcome him, that is, my bowels.
13 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.
Whom I wanted to keep back for myself, so that in thy behalf he might serve me in the bonds of the good news.
14 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.
But I wanted to do nothing without thy mind, so that thy goodness might not be as from obligation, but from volition.
15 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)
For perhaps because of this he departed for an hour, so that thou might receive him back forever, (aiōnios g166)
16 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!
no longer as a bondman, but above a bondman, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to thee, both in flesh and in the Lord.
17 If, then, you count me your friend, receive him as you would me.
If then thou have me a partner, accept him as myself.
18 If he has caused you any loss, or owes you anything, charge it to me.
But if he has wronged thee, or owes anything, charge this to me.
19 I, Paul, put my own hand to it – I will repay you myself. I say nothing about your owing me your self.
I Paul write with my hand, I will repay, so that I may not say to thee that thou owe me in return even thyself.
20 Yes, friend, let me gain something from you because of your union with the Lord. Cheer my heart by your Christlike spirit.
Yes, brother, let me have a favor of thee in the Lord. Refresh my bowels in the Lord.
21 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.
Being confident in thine obedience I wrote to thee, knowing that thou will do above what I say.
22 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.
But simultaneously also prepare a lodging for me, for I hope that by your prayers I will be granted to you.
23 Epaphras, who is my fellow prisoner for Christ Jesus, sends you his greeting;
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, salutes thee,
24 and Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers, send theirs.
and Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my co-workmen.
25 May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ rest on your souls.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with your spirit. Truly.
