¹ I, 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. ² We 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.

³ May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Paul Prays and Gives Thanks

⁴ I always thank my God when I remember you in my prayers. ⁵ That’s because I hear about your love for all God’s people. I also hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus. ⁶ I 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. ⁷ Your 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

⁸ Because of the authority Christ has given me, I could be bold. I could order you to do what you should do anyway. ⁹ But 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. ¹⁰ I 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. ¹¹ Before that, he was useless to you. But now he has become useful to you and to me.

¹² I’m sending Onesimus back to you. All my love for him goes with him. ¹³ I’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. ¹⁴ But 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. ¹⁵ Onesimus was separated from you for a little while. Maybe that was so you could have him back forever. ¹⁶ You 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.

¹⁷ Do you think of me as a believer who works together with you? Then welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me. ¹⁸ Has he done anything wrong to you? Does he owe you anything? Then charge it to me. ¹⁹ I’ll pay it back. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I won’t even mention that you owe me your life. ²⁰ My 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. ²¹ I’m sure you will obey. So I’m writing to you. I know you will do even more than I ask.

²² There 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.