Greeting
PHILEMON 1 [†]Paul, a a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and b Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2[†]and Apphia our sister and c Archippus our d fellow soldier, and e the church in your house:
3 f Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon’s Love and Faith
4[†] g I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5because I h hear of your love and i of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6[†]and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full j knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. [1] 7[†]For I have derived much joy and k comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints l have been refreshed through you.
Paul’s Plea for Onesimus
8[†]Accordingly, m though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do n what is required, 9yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now o a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10[†]I appeal to you for p my child, q Onesimus, [2] r whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11[†](Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12[†]I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13[†]I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me s on your behalf t during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be u by compulsion but of your own accord. 15[†]For this perhaps is why v he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16[†] w no longer as a bondservant [3] but more than a bondservant, as x a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, y both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17[†]So if you consider me z your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18[†]If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 a I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20[†]Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. b Refresh my heart in Christ.
21[†] c Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22[†]At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for d I am hoping that e through your prayers f I will be graciously given to you.
Final Greetings
23[†] g Epaphras, my h fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24[†]and so do i Mark, i Aristarchus, j Demas, and j Luke, my fellow workers.
25 k The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.