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Philemon
New King James Version

Greeting

1 Paul, a (A)prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, 2 to [a]the beloved Apphia, (B)Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

4 (C)I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, 5 (D)hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, 6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective (E)by the acknowledgment of (F)every good thing which is in [b]you in Christ Jesus. 7 For we [c]have great [d]joy and [e]consolation in your love, because the [f]hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

The Plea for Onesimus

8 Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, 9 yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ— 10 I appeal to you for my son (G)Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, 11 who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.

12 I am sending him [g]back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own [h]heart, 13 whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. 14 But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, (H)that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.

15 For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the (I)flesh and in the Lord.

Philemon’s Obedience Encouraged

17 If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. 18 But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing with my own (J)hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. 20 Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.

21 (K)Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for (L)I trust that (M)through your prayers I shall be granted to you.

Farewell

23 (N)Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, 24 as do (O)Mark, (P)Aristarchus, (Q)Demas, (R)Luke, my fellow laborers.

25 (S)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Footnotes

  1. Philemon 1:2 NU our sister Apphia
  2. Philemon 1:6 NU, M us
  3. Philemon 1:7 NU had
  4. Philemon 1:7 M thanksgiving
  5. Philemon 1:7 comfort
  6. Philemon 1:7 Lit. inward parts, heart, liver, and lungs
  7. Philemon 1:12 NU back to you in person, that is, my own heart,
  8. Philemon 1:12 See v. 7.
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Philemon
English Standard Version

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.

Footnotes

  1. Philemon 1:6 Or for Christ's service
  2. Philemon 1:10 Onesimus means useful (see verse 11) or beneficial (see verse 20)
  3. Philemon 1:16 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; twice in this verse
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Philemon
New International Version

1 Paul, a prisoner(A) of Christ Jesus, and Timothy(B) our brother,(C)

To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker(D)— 2 also to Apphia our sister and Archippus(E) our fellow soldier(F)—and to the church that meets in your home:(G)

3 Grace and peace to you[a] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(H)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

4 I always thank my God(I) as I remember you in my prayers,(J) 5 because I hear about your love for all his holy people(K) and your faith in the Lord Jesus.(L) 6 I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. 7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement,(M) because you, brother, have refreshed(N) the hearts of the Lord’s people.

Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

8 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I prefer to appeal to you(O) on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner(P) of Christ Jesus— 10 that I appeal to you for my son(Q) Onesimus,[b](R) who became my son while I was in chains.(S) 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains(T) for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced(U) but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave,(V) but better than a slave, as a dear brother.(W) He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me a partner,(X) welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.(Y) 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand.(Z) I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh(AA) my heart in Christ. 21 Confident(AB) of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

22 And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be(AC) restored to you in answer to your prayers.(AD)

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

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

Footnotes

  1. Philemon 1:3 The Greek is plural; also in verses 22 and 25; elsewhere in this letter “you” is singular.
  2. Philemon 1:10 Onesimus means useful.
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Philemon
New American Standard Bible

Salutation

1 (A)Paul, (B)a prisoner of (C)Christ Jesus, and (D)Timothy [a]our brother,

To Philemon our beloved brother and (E)fellow worker, 2 and to Apphia [b](F)our sister, and to (G)Archippus our (H)fellow soldier, and to (I)the church in your house: 3 (J)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

4 (K)I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, 5 because I (L)hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the [c]saints; 6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective [d]through the (M)knowledge of every good thing which is in you [e]for the sake of Christ. 7 For I have had great (N)joy and comfort in your love, because the [f]hearts of the [g]saints have been (O)refreshed through you, brother.

8 Therefore, (P)though I have [h]enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is (Q)proper, 9 yet for love’s sake I rather (R)appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, [i]an (S)old man, and now also (T)a prisoner of (U)Christ Jesus—

Plea for Onesimus, a Free Man

10 I (V)appeal to you for my [j](W)son [k](X)Onesimus, whom I [l]fathered in my [m]imprisonment, 11 who previously was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. 12 I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, 13 whom I wanted to keep with me, so that in your behalf he might be at my service in my [n](Y)imprisonment for the gospel; 14 but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness would (Z)not be, in effect, by compulsion, but of your own free will. 15 For perhaps it was (AA)for this reason that he was separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, 16 (AB)no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, (AC)a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both (AD)in the flesh and in the Lord.

17 If then you regard me as a (AE)partner, accept him as you would me. 18 But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account; 19 (AF)I, Paul, have written this with my own hand, I will repay it ((AG)not to [o]mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well). 20 Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; (AH)refresh my heart in Christ.

21 (AI)Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.

22 At the same time also prepare me a (AJ)guest room, for (AK)I hope that through (AL)your prayers (AM)I will be given to you.

23 (AN)Epaphras, my (AO)fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, 24 as do (AP)Mark, (AQ)Aristarchus, (AR)Demas, and (AS)Luke, my (AT)fellow workers.

25 (AU)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be (AV)with your spirit.[p]

Footnotes

  1. Philemon 1:1 Lit the
  2. Philemon 1:2 Lit the
  3. Philemon 1:5 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
  4. Philemon 1:6 Or in
  5. Philemon 1:6 Lit toward Christ
  6. Philemon 1:7 Lit inward parts
  7. Philemon 1:7 See note v 5
  8. Philemon 1:8 Lit much
  9. Philemon 1:9 Or an ambassador
  10. Philemon 1:10 Or child
  11. Philemon 1:10 I.e., useful
  12. Philemon 1:10 I.e., led to the Lord
  13. Philemon 1:10 Lit bonds
  14. Philemon 1:13 Lit bonds
  15. Philemon 1:19 Lit say
  16. Philemon 1:25 One early ms adds Amen
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Philemon
Contemporary English Version

1 From Paul, who is in jail for serving Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, who is like a brother because of our faith.

Philemon, you work with us and are very dear to us. This letter is to you 2 (A) and to the church that meets in your home. It is also to our dear friend Apphia and to Archippus, who serves the Lord as we do.

3 I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

Philemon's Love and Faith

4 Philemon, each time I mention you in my prayers, I thank God. 5 I hear about your faith in our Lord Jesus and about your love for all God's people. 6 As you share your faith with others, I pray they may come to know all the blessings Christ has given us. 7 My friend, your love has made me happy and has greatly encouraged me. It has also cheered the hearts of God's people.

Paul Speaks to Philemon about Onesimus

8 Christ gives me the courage to tell you what to do. 9 But I would rather ask you to do it simply because of love. Yes, as someone[a] in jail for Christ, 10 (B) I beg you to help Onesimus![b] He is like a son to me because I led him to Christ here in jail. 11 Before this, he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.

12 Sending Onesimus back to you makes me very sad. 13 I would like to keep him here with me, where he could take your place in helping me while I am here in prison for preaching the good news. 14 But I won't do anything unless you agree to it first. I want your act of kindness to come from your heart, and not be something you feel forced to do.

15 Perhaps Onesimus was taken from you for a little while so you could have him back for good, 16 but not as a slave. Onesimus is much more than a slave. To me he is a dear friend, but to you he is even more, both as a person and as a follower of the Lord.

17 If you consider me a friend because of Christ, then welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me. 18 If he has cheated you or owes you anything, charge it to my account. 19 With my own hand I write: I, PAUL, WILL PAY YOU BACK. But don't forget you owe me your life. 20 My dear friend and follower of Christ our Lord, please cheer me up by doing this for me.

21 I am sure you will do all I have asked, and even more. 22 Please get a room ready for me. I hope your prayers will be answered, and I can visit you.

23 (C) Epaphras is also here in jail for being a follower of Christ Jesus. He sends his greetings, 24 (D) and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, who work together with me.

25 I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you!

Footnotes

  1. 9 someone: Greek “a messenger” or “an old man.”
  2. 10 Onesimus: In Greek this name means “useful.”
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