Philemon 1
1
1Paul, prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timotheus the brother, to Philemon the beloved and our fellow-workman, 2and to the sister Apphia and to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the assembly which is in thine house. 3Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4I thank my God, always making mention of thee at my prayers, 5hearing of thy love and the faith which thou hast towards the Lord Jesus, and towards all the saints, 6in such sort that thy participation in the faith should become operative in the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in us towards Christ Jesus. 7For we have great thankfulness and encouragement through thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.
8Wherefore having much boldness in Christ to enjoin thee what is fitting, 9for love's sake I rather exhort, being such a one as Paul the aged, and now also prisoner of Jesus Christ. 10I exhort thee for my child, whom I have begotten in my bonds, Onesimus, 11once unserviceable to thee, but now serviceable to thee and to me: 12whom I have sent back to thee: but do thou receive him, that is, my bowels: 13whom I was desirous of keeping with myself, that for thee he might minister to me in the bonds of the glad tidings; 14but I have wished to do nothing without thy mind, that thy good might not be as of necessity but of willingness: 15for perhaps for this reason he has been separated from thee for a time, that thou mightest possess him fully for ever; 16not any longer as a bondman, but above a bondman, a beloved brother, specially to me, and how much rather to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord? 17If therefore thou holdest me to be a partner with thee, receive him as me; 18but if he have wronged thee anything or owe anything to thee, put this to my account. 19I Paul have written it with mine own hand; I will repay it: that I say not to thee that thou owest even thine own self also to me. 20Yea, brother, I would have profit of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in Christ. 21Being confident of thine obedience, I have written to thee, knowing that thou wilt do even more than I say. 22But withal prepare me also a lodging; for I hope that I shall be granted to you through your prayers. 23Epaphras salutes thee, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus; 24Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow-workmen. 25The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Philemon 1
1
1I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. Our brother Timothy joins me in writing.
Philemon, we are sending you this letter. You are our dear friend. You work together with us. 2We are also sending it to our sister Apphia and to Archippus. He is a soldier of Christ together with us. And we are sending it to the church that meets in your home.
3May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Paul Prays and Gives Thanks
4I always thank my God when I remember you in my prayers. 5That’s because I hear about your love for all God’s people. I also hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus. 6I pray that what we share by believing will help you understand even more. Then you will completely understand every good thing we share by believing in Christ. 7Your love has given me great joy. It has encouraged me. My brother, you have renewed the hearts of the Lord’s people.
Paul Makes an Appeal for Onesimus
8Because of the authority Christ has given me, I could be bold. I could order you to do what you should do anyway. 9But we love each other. And I would rather appeal to you on the basis of that love. I, Paul, am an old man. I am now also a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. 10I am an old man, and I’m in prison. This is how I make my appeal to you for my son Onesimus. He became a son to me while I was being held in chains. 11Before that, he was useless to you. But now he has become useful to you and to me.
12I’m sending Onesimus back to you. All my love for him goes with him. 13I’m being held in chains because of the good news. So I would have liked to keep Onesimus with me. And he could take your place in helping me. 14But I didn’t want to do anything unless you agreed. Any favor you do must be done because you want to do it, not because you have to. 15Onesimus was separated from you for a little while. Maybe that was so you could have him back forever. 16You could have him back not as a slave. Instead, he would be better than a slave. He would be a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even more dear to you. He is dear to you not only as another human being. He is also dear to you as a brother in the Lord.
17Do you think of me as a believer who works together with you? Then welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me. 18Has he done anything wrong to you? Does he owe you anything? Then charge it to me. 19I’ll pay it back. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I won’t even mention that you owe me your life. 20My brother, we both belong to the Lord. So I wish I could receive some benefit from you. Renew my heart. We know that Christ is the one who really renews it. 21I’m sure you will obey. So I’m writing to you. I know you will do even more than I ask.
22There is one more thing. Have a guest room ready for me. I hope I can return to all of you in answer to your prayers.
23Epaphras sends you greetings. Together with me, he is a prisoner because of Christ Jesus.
24Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke work together with me. They also send you greetings.
25May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
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