Philemon 1

¹Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy [our] brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker,

²to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church [that meets] at your house:

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

⁴I always thank my God, remembering you in my prayers,

⁵because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.

⁶[I pray] that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good [thing] that [is] ours in Christ.

⁷I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

⁸So {although} in Christ I am bold enough to order you [to do] what [is] proper,

⁹I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. [For] I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.

¹⁰I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became [while I was] in chains.

¹¹Formerly [he was] useless to you, but now [he has become] useful both to you and to me.

¹²I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.

¹³I would have liked to keep [him] with me, so that on your behalf he could minister to me in [my] chains for the gospel.

¹⁴But I did [not] want to do [anything] without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.

¹⁵For perhaps this is why he was separated [from you] for a while, so that you might have him back for good —

¹⁶no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, [as] a beloved brother. [He is] especially [ beloved ] to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in [the] Lord.

¹⁷So if you consider me a partner, receive him as [you would receive] me.

¹⁸But if he has wronged you in any way or owes [you anything], charge it to my account.

¹⁹I, Paul, write [this] with my own hand. I will repay [it] — not to mention that you owe me your very self.

²⁰Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in [the] Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

²¹Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

²²In the meantime, prepare a guest room for me, because I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings,

²⁴[as do] Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, [and] Luke, my fellow workers.

²⁵The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ [be] with your spirit.