Philemon 1
1 From Paul, now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, a fellow follower of the Lord.
Παῦλος, δέσμιος ˚Χριστοῦ ˚Ἰησοῦ, καὶ Τιμόθεος, ὁ ἀδελφὸς, Φιλήμονι, τῷ ἀγαπητῷ καὶ συνεργῷ ἡμῶν,
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;
καὶ Ἀπφίᾳ, τῇ ἀδελφῇ, καὶ Ἀρχίππῳ, τῷ συστρατιώτῃ ἡμῶν, καὶ τῇ κατʼ οἶκόν σου ἐκκλησίᾳ:
3 may God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace.
χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη, ἀπὸ ˚Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ ˚Κυρίου ˚Ἰησοῦ ˚Χριστοῦ.
4 I always mention you in my prayers and thank God for you,
Εὐχαριστῶ τῷ ˚Θεῷ μου πάντοτε, μνείαν σου ποιούμενος ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν μου,
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;
ἀκούων σου τὴν ἀγάπην καὶ τὴν πίστιν, ἣν ἔχεις εἰς τὸν ˚Κύριον ˚Ἰησοῦν, καὶ εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους,
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.
ὅπως ἡ κοινωνία τῆς πίστεώς σου, ἐνεργὴς γένηται ἐν ἐπιγνώσει παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν εἰς ˚Χριστόν.
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.
Χαρὰν γὰρ πολλὴν ἔσχον καὶ παράκλησιν, ἐπὶ τῇ ἀγάπῃ σου, ὅτι τὰ σπλάγχνα τῶν ἁγίων ἀναπέπαυται διὰ σοῦ, ἀδελφέ.
8 And so, though my union with Christ enables me, with all confidence, to dictate the course that you should adopt,
Διό, πολλὴν ἐν ˚Χριστῷ παρρησίαν ἔχων, ἐπιτάσσειν σοι τὸ ἀνῆκον,
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.
διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην μᾶλλον παρακαλῶ τοιοῦτος ὢν, ὡς Παῦλος (πρεσβύτης νυνὶ δὲ καὶ δέσμιος ˚Χριστοῦ ˚Ἰησοῦ),
10 I plead with you for this child of mine, Onesimus, to whom, in my prison, I have become a father.
παρακαλῶ σε περὶ τοῦ ἐμοῦ τέκνου, ὃν ἐγέννησα ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς, Ὀνήσιμον,
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;
τόν ποτέ σοι ἄχρηστον, νυνὶ δὲ σοὶ καὶ ἐμοὶ εὔχρηστον,
12 and I am sending him back to you with this letter – though it is like tearing out of my heart.
ὃν ἀνέπεμψά σοι αὐτόν, τοῦτʼ ἔστιν τὰ ἐμὰ σπλάγχνα,
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.
ὃν ἐγὼ ἐβουλόμην πρὸς ἐμαυτὸν κατέχειν, ἵνα ὑπὲρ σοῦ μοι διακονῇ ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς τοῦ εὐαγγελίου,
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.
χωρὶς δὲ τῆς σῆς γνώμης, οὐδὲν ἠθέλησα ποιῆσαι, ἵνα μὴ ὡς κατὰ ἀνάγκην τὸ ἀγαθόν σου ᾖ, ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἑκούσιον.
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)
Τάχα γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο, ἐχωρίσθη πρὸς ὥραν, ἵνα αἰώνιον αὐτὸν ἀπέχῃς, (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!
οὐκέτι ὡς δοῦλον, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ δοῦλον, ἀδελφὸν ἀγαπητόν, μάλιστα ἐμοί πόσῳ δὲ μᾶλλον σοὶ, καὶ ἐν σαρκὶ καὶ ἐν ˚Κυρίῳ.
17 If, then, you count me your friend, receive him as you would me.
Εἰ οὖν με ἔχεις κοινωνόν, προσλαβοῦ αὐτὸν ὡς ἐμέ.
18 If he has caused you any loss, or owes you anything, charge it to me.
Εἰ δέ τι ἠδίκησέν σε ἢ ὀφείλει, τοῦτο ἐμοὶ ἐλλόγα.
19 I, Paul, put my own hand to it – I will repay you myself. I say nothing about your owing me your self.
Ἐγὼ Παῦλος ἔγραψα τῇ ἐμῇ χειρί, ἐγὼ ἀποτίσω· ἵνα μὴ λέγω σοι ὅτι καὶ σεαυτόν μοι προσοφείλεις.
20 Yes, friend, let me gain something from you because of your union with the Lord. Cheer my heart by your Christlike spirit.
Ναί, ἀδελφέ, ἐγώ σου ὀναίμην ἐν ˚Κυρίῳ· ἀνάπαυσόν μου τὰ σπλάγχνα ἐν ˚Χριστῷ.
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.
Πεποιθὼς τῇ ὑπακοῇ σου, ἔγραψά σοι, εἰδὼς ὅτι καὶ ὑπὲρ ἃ λέγω, ποιήσεις.
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.
Ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἑτοίμαζέ μοι ξενίαν, ἐλπίζω γὰρ ὅτι διὰ τῶν προσευχῶν ὑμῶν, χαρισθήσομαι ὑμῖν.
23 Epaphras, who is my fellow prisoner for Christ Jesus, sends you his greeting;
Ἀσπάζεταί σε Ἐπαφρᾶς, ὁ συναιχμάλωτός μου ἐν ˚Χριστῷ ˚Ἰησοῦ,
24 and Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers, send theirs.
Μᾶρκος, Ἀρίσταρχος, Δημᾶς, Λουκᾶς, οἱ συνεργοί μου.
25 May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ rest on your souls.
Ἡ χάρις τοῦ ˚Κυρίου ἡμῶν, ˚Ἰησοῦ ˚Χριστοῦ, μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος ὑμῶν. Ἀμήν!
