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 friend and fellow-laborer,
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 to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in thy house:
3 may God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace.
Grace be 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 at all times, making mention of thee 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 hast toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints;
6 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.
that the fellowship of thy faith may become effectual in the knowledge of every good thing which is 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 great thankfulness and comfort on account of thy love, because the hearts of the saints 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,
Wherefore, though I have much boldness in Christ to enjoin upon 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.
yet for love's sake I beseech thee rather; being such a one as Paul an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus,
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, whom I begot in my bonds, Onesimus;
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;
who in time past was unprofitable to thee, but is now profitable to thee and to me;
12 and I am sending him back to you with this letter – though it is like tearing out of my heart.
whom I have sent back; and do thou [[receive]] him, that is, my own flesh.
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 would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might minister to me in the bonds of the gospel;
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 chose to do nothing without thy consent, that thy benefit may be not as from necessity, but willingly.
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 he was separated from thee for a season to this end, that thou shouldst receive him back as thine for ever; (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 bond-servant, but above a bond-servant, a brother beloved, especially to me, but how much more to thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord!
17 If, then, you count me your friend, receive him as you would me.
If thou then regardest me as a partner, receive him as myself.
18 If he has caused you any loss, or owes you anything, charge it to me.
And if he wronged thee in anything, or oweth thee, put that to my account.
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 have written it with my own hand, I will repay it; not to say to thee, that to me thou owest even thy own self besides.
20 Yes, friend, let me gain something from you because of your union with the Lord. Cheer my heart by your Christlike spirit.
Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.
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.
Having confidence in thy obedience I have written to thee, knowing that thou wilt do even more than 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.
And at the same time make ready a lodging for me; for I hope that through your prayers I shall 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,
24 and Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers, send theirs.
Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow-laborers, salute thee.
25 May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ rest on your souls.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
