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
Greeting
1From Paul, who is a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and our brother Timothy.
To our dear coworker Philemon, 2our sister Apphia, our fellow soldier Archippus, and the church that meets in your house.
3Good will #3 Or “Grace.” and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are yours!
Paul’s Prayer for Philemon
4 ⌞Philemon,⌟ I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers because 5I hear about your faithfulness to the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. 6As you share the faith you have in common with others, I pray that you may come to have a complete knowledge of every blessing we have in Christ. 7Your love ⌞for God’s people⌟ gives me a lot of joy and encouragement. You, brother, have comforted God’s people.
Paul’s Advice about Onesimus
8Christ makes me bold enough to order you to do the right thing. 9However, I would prefer to make an appeal on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an old man and now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, 10appeal to you for my child Onesimus [Useful]. I became his spiritual father here in prison. 11Once he was useless to you, but now he is very useful to both of us.
12I am sending him back to you. This is like sending you a part of myself. 13I wanted to keep him here with me. Then he could have served me in your place while I am in prison for spreading the Good News. 14Yet, I didn’t want to do anything without your consent. I want you to do this favor for me out of your own free will without feeling forced to do it.
15Maybe Onesimus was gone for a while so that you could have him back forever— 16no longer as a slave but better than a slave—as a dear brother. He is especially dear to me, but even more so to you, both as a person and as a Christian.
17If you think of me as your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18If he wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19I, Paul, promise to pay it back. I’m writing this with my own hand. I won’t even mention that you owe me your life. 20So, because we’re brothers in the Lord, do something for me. Give me some comfort because of Christ. 21I am confident as I write to you that you will do this. And I know that you will do even more than I ask.
22One more thing—have a guest room ready for me. I hope that, because of your prayers, God will give me back to you.
Greetings from Paul’s Coworkers
23Epaphras, who is a prisoner because of Christ Jesus like I am, 24and my coworkers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke send you greetings.
25The good will of our Lord Jesus Christ be yours.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.