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Philemon 8-14
Christian Standard Bible
Philemon 8-14
Christian Standard Bible
An Appeal for Onesimus
8 For this reason, although I have great boldness in Christ to command you to do what is right, 9 I appeal to you, instead, on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an elderly man[a] and now also as a prisoner(A) of Christ Jesus, 10 appeal to you for my son,(B) Onesimus.[b](C) I became his father(D) while I was in chains. 11 Once he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him back to you—I am sending my very own heart.[c][d] 13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that in my imprisonment for the gospel he might serve me in your place. 14 But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be out of obligation, but of your own free will.
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Philemon 8-14
Common English Bible
Philemon 8-14
Common English Bible
Paul’s appeal for Onesimus
8 Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to command you to do the right thing, 9 I would rather appeal to you through love. I, Paul—an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus— 10 appeal to you for my child Onesimus. I became his father in the faith during my time in prison. 11 He was useless to you before, but now he is useful to both of us. 12 I’m sending him back to you, which is like sending you my own heart. 13 I considered keeping him with me so that he might serve me in your place during my time in prison because of the gospel. 14 However, I didn’t want to do anything without your consent so that your act of kindness would occur willingly and not under pressure.
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Philemon 8-14
New International Version
Philemon 8-14
New International Version
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(A) on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner(B) of Christ Jesus— 10 that I appeal to you for my son(C) Onesimus,[a](D) who became my son while I was in chains.(E) 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(F) 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(G) but would be voluntary.
Footnotes
- Philemon 1:10 Onesimus means useful.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.