Philemon 1
1 From Paul, now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, a fellow follower of the Lord.
Paul, prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy my brother, —unto Philemon the beloved, and a fellow worker of ours,
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 unto Apphia our sister. And unto Archippus our fellow-soldier, and unto the assembly which meeteth, at thy house:
3 may God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace.
Favour unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always mention you in my prayers and thank God for you,
I am giving thanks unto my God—always, 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 of the faith which thou hast towards the Lord Jesus and towards 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.
To the end that, the fellowship of thy faith, may become, energetic, by a personal knowledge of every good thing that is in us towards Christ;
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, much joy, have I had, and encouragement, by occasion of thy love, in that, the tender affections of the saints, have had rest given them 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, freedom of speech, in Christ, to be enjoining 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 loves sake, I rather exhort, —being, such a one, as Paul the aged, now, also, even 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 exhort thee concerning my own child, whom I have begotten 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;
Him who, at one time, was, unto thee, unserviceable, but, now, unto thee and unto me, serviceable;
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 unto thee—him, that is, my own, tender affections!—
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, was minded, with myself, to detain, that, in thy behalf, unto me, he might be ministering in the bonds of the joyful message;
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, apart from thy mind, I wished to do, nothing, that, not as by necessity, thy goodness should be, but, by choice.
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, peradventure, for this cause, was he separated for an hour, that, as an age-abiding possession, thou mightest have him back, — (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 servant, but above a servant—a brother beloved, very greatly to me, but, how much rather, 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, therefore, thou holdest me as one in thy fellowship, take him unto thee, as myself;
18 If he has caused you any loss, or owes you anything, charge it to me.
And, if he hath wronged thee at all or oweth thee aught, the same, unto me, do thou reckon: —
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]; that I may not tell thee—that, thyself, unto me, thou still owest.
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, I, would, from thee, have help, in the Lord: give rest unto my tender affections 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.
Confident of thine obedience, I have written unto thee, knowing that, even beyond what I say, thou wilt do: —
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.
At the same time, moreover, be also getting ready for me, a lodging; for I am hoping that, through your prayers, I shall be granted as a favour unto you.
23 Epaphras, who is my fellow prisoner for Christ Jesus, sends you his greeting;
There salute thee—Epaphras my fellow-captive in Christ Jesus,
24 and Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers, send theirs.
Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, —my fellow-workers.
25 May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ rest on your souls.
The favour of the Lord Jesus Christ, be with your spirit.
