Greeting
Philemon 1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our sibling,
To Philemon, our beloved friend and coworker, also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets in your house:
Grace and peace to y’all from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
I thank my God always, remembering you in my prayers, because I hear of your love for all the saints and of the faith you have in the Lord Jesus. I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become energized in the knowledge of every good thing which is in y’all for the sake of Christ.
A Plea to Onesimus
I have had great joy and encouragement in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, sibling.
Therefore although in Christ I have considerable freedom to command you to do what is proper, I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an old man and also a prisoner of Jesus Christ, appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. Formerly, he was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. I am sending to you him who is my very heart, whom I wanted to keep with me, so that he might serve me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness would not come from your compulsion, but from your willingness. For perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was so that you would have him forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved sibling, especially to me, but even more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
So if you consider me a partner, accept him as you would me. But if he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (I could also say to you that you owe me your very self). Yes, sibling, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Christ.
Since I am confident in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
Also, prepare a guest room for me, because I hope that through y’all’s prayers I will be restored to y’all.
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my coworkers.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with y’all’s spirit.