Greeting

1Paul, a prisoner for ⁰Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved friend and fellow worker,

2and also to ¹the beloved Apphia, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets in yoʋr house:

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

Philemon's Love and Faith

4I give thanks to my God, always making mention of yoʋ in my prayers,

5because I hear of yoʋr love for all the saints and the faith that yoʋ have toward the Lord Jesus.

6I pray that yoʋr fellowship with us in the faith may be effective in deepening yoʋr understanding of every blessing that ²we have in Christ ³Jesus.

7⁴We are very thankful for the comfort we have received from yoʋr love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through yoʋ, brother.

Paul's Appeal for Onesimus

8Therefore, although I am bold enough in Christ to command yoʋ to do what is right,

9I would rather appeal to yoʋ on the basis of love. I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner for ⁵Jesus Christ,

10appeal to yoʋ on behalf of my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment.

11Once he was useless to yoʋ, but now he is useful both to yoʋ and to me. I am sending him ⁶back,

12⁷and I ask yoʋ to receive him, that is, my very own heart.

13I wanted to keep him with me so that he could serve me in yoʋr place during my imprisonment for the gospel.

14But I did not want to do anything without yoʋr consent, so that yoʋr good deed would not be done out of compulsion, but of yoʋr own free will.

15Perhaps the reason he was separated from yoʋ for an hour was so that yoʋ might have him back forever,

16no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, as a beloved brother, especially to me, but even more so to yoʋ, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

17So if yoʋ consider me to be a partner, receive him as yoʋ would receive me.

18If he has wronged yoʋ in any way or owes yoʋ anything, charge it to me.

19I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (not to mention that yoʋ owe me yoʋr very own life).

20Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from yoʋ in the Lord. Refresh my heart in ⁸the Lord.

21Trusting in yoʋr obedience, I write to yoʋ, knowing that yoʋ will do even more than I ask.

22At the same time, I want yoʋ to prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you soon.

Final Greetings

23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ ⁹Jesus,

24and Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers, greet yoʋ.

25The grace of ¹⁰our Lord Jesus ¹¹Christ be with your spirit. ¹²Amen. ¹³