Greeting

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, ⁵ because 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.^{[a] 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, ⁹ yet 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,^{[b] (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, ¹⁴ but 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^[c] 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 (AA)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. ^(AB)Refresh my heart in Christ.

^21 (AC)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 ^(AD)I am hoping that ^(AE)through your prayers ^(AF)I will be graciously given to you.

Final Greetings

^23 (AG)Epaphras, my ^(AH)fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, ²⁴ and so do ^(AI)Mark, ^(AJ)Aristarchus, ^(AK)Demas, and ^(AL)Luke, my fellow workers.

^25 (AM)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, servants^[a] of Christ Jesus,

To all the ^(A)saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the ^(B)overseers^[b] and ^(C)deacons:^[c]

^2 (D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

^3 (E)I thank my God ^(F)in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ^5 (G)because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began ^(H)a good work in you ^(I)will bring it to completion at ^(J)the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you ^(K)in my heart, for you are all ^(L)partakers with me of grace,^[d] both ^(M)in my imprisonment and in ^(N)the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸ For ^(O)God is my witness, ^(P)how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And it is my prayer that ^(Q)your love may abound more and more, ^(R)with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, ^(S)and so be pure and blameless ^(T)for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled ^(U)with the fruit of righteousness that comes ^(V)through Jesus Christ, ^(W)to the glory and praise of God.

The Advance of the Gospel

¹² I want you to know, brothers,^[e] that what has happened to me has really ^(X)served to advance the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard^[f] and ^(Y)to all the rest that ^(Z)my imprisonment is for Christ. ¹⁴ And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold ^(AA)to speak the word^[g] without fear.

^15 (AB)Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, ^(AC)knowing that I am put here for ^(AD)the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former proclaim Christ ^(AE)out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

To Live Is Christ

Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that ^(AF)through your prayers and ^(AG)the help of ^(AH)the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰ as it is my eager expectation and hope ^(AI)that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full ^(AJ)courage now as always Christ ^(AK)will be honored in my body, ^(AL)whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me ^(AM)to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ^23 (AN)I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is ^(AO)to depart and ^(AP)be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴ But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ^25 (AQ)Convinced of this, ^(AR)I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your ^(AS)progress and ^(AT)joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that in me ^(AU)you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

²⁷ Only ^(AV)let your manner of life be ^(AW)worthy^[h] of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you ^(AX)that you are standing firm in one spirit, with ^(AY)one mind ^(AZ)striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸ and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is ^(BA)a clear sign to them of their destruction, but ^(BB)of your salvation, and that from God. ²⁹ For ^(BC)it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also ^(BD)suffer for his sake, ³⁰ engaged in the same ^(BE)conflict that ^(BF)you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Christ's Example of Humility

2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from ^(BG)love, any ^(BH)participation in the Spirit, any ^(BI)affection and sympathy, ^2 (BJ)complete my joy by being ^(BK)of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from ^(BL)selfish ambition or ^(BM)conceit, but in ^(BN)humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you ^(BO)look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ^5 (BP)Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,^{[i] 6 (BQ)}who, though he was in ^(BR)the form of God, did not count equality with God ^(BS)a thing to be grasped,^{[j] 7} but ^(BT)emptied himself, by taking the form of a ^(BU)servant,^{[k] (BV)}being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by ^(BW)becoming obedient to the point of death, ^(BX)even death on a cross. ^9 (BY)Therefore ^(BZ)God has ^(CA)highly exalted him and bestowed on him ^(CB)the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus ^(CC)every knee should bow, ^(CD)in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and ^(CE)every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is ^(CF)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.