Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

⁸ For this reason, although in the Messiah^[a] I have complete freedom to order you to do what is proper, ⁹ I prefer to make my appeal on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an old man and now a prisoner of the Messiah^[b] Jesus, ¹⁰ appeal to you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. ¹¹ Once he was useless to you, but now he is very useful^[c] both to you and to me. ¹² As I send him back, it’s like I’m coming along with him.^{[d] 13} I wanted to keep him with me so that he could serve me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel. ¹⁴ Yet I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be something forced, but voluntary.