Philemon

English Standard Version Anglicised

Greeting

¹Paul, ^(A)a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and ^(B)Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our beloved fellow worker ²and 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, ⁵because I ^(H)hear of your love and ^(I)of the faith that you have towards the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, ⁶and 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] ⁷For 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

⁸Accordingly, ^(M)though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do ^(N)what is required, ⁹yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now ^(O)a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— ¹⁰I 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.) ¹²I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. ¹³I 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, ¹⁴but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be ^(U)by compulsion but of your own accord. ¹⁵For this perhaps is why ^(V)he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back for ever, ¹⁶^(W)no longer as a slave^[c] but more than a slave, as ^(X)a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, ^(Y)both in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷So if you consider me ^(Z)your partner, receive him as you would receive me. ¹⁸If 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. ²⁰Yes, 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. ²²At 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, ²⁴and 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.

Notas al pie

Philemon 1:6 Or for Christ's service
Philemon 1:10 Onesimus means useful (see verse 11) or beneficial (see verse 20)
Philemon 1:16 Greek bondservant; twice in this verse

Philemon

The Message

^1-3I, Paul, am a prisoner for the sake of Christ, here with my brother Timothy. I write this letter to you, Philemon, my good friend and companion in this work—also to our sister Apphia, to Archippus, a real trooper, and to the church that meets in your house. God’s best to you! Christ’s blessings on you!

^4-7Every time your name comes up in my prayers, I say, “Oh, thank you, God!” I keep hearing of the love and faith you have for the Master Jesus, which brims over to other believers. And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it. Friend, you have no idea how good your love makes me feel, doubly so when I see your hospitality to fellow believers.

To Call the Slave Your Friend

^8-9In line with all this I have a favor to ask of you. As Christ’s ambassador and now a prisoner for him, I wouldn’t hesitate to command this if I thought it necessary, but I’d rather make it a personal request.

^10-14While here in jail, I’ve fathered a child, so to speak. And here he is, hand-carrying this letter—Onesimus! He was useless to you before; now he’s useful to both of us. I’m sending him back to you, but it feels like I’m cutting off my right arm in doing so. I wanted in the worst way to keep him here as your stand-in to help out while I’m in jail for the Message. But I didn’t want to do anything behind your back, make you do a good deed that you hadn’t willingly agreed to.

^15-16Maybe it’s all for the best that you lost him for a while. You’re getting him back now for good—and no mere slave this time, but a true Christian brother! That’s what he was to me—he’ll be even more than that to you.

^17-20So if you still consider me a comrade-in-arms, welcome him back as you would me. If he damaged anything or owes you anything, chalk it up to my account. This is my personal signature—Paul—and I stand behind it. (I don’t need to remind you, do I, that you owe your very life to me?) Do me this big favor, friend. You’ll be doing it for Christ, but it will also do my heart good.

^21-22I know you well enough to know you will. You’ll probably go far beyond what I’ve written. And by the way, get a room ready for me. Because of your prayers, I fully expect to be your guest again.

^23-25Epaphras, my cellmate in the cause of Christ, says hello. Also my coworkers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke. All the best to you from the Master, Jesus Christ!

English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

The Message (MSG)

Philemon English Standard Version Anglicised