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Philemon 1 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

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Greeting

Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:1 - Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:2 - and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:3 - Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:4 - I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers,
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:5 - because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints,
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:6 - and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.[fn]
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:7 - For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:8 - Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required,
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:9 - yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus—
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:10 - I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus,[fn] whose father I became in my imprisonment.
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:11 - (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:12 - I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart.
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:13 - I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel,
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:14 - but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:15 - For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever,
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:16 - no longer as a bondservant[fn] but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:17 - So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:18 - If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:19 - I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self.
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:20 - Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:21 - Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:22 - At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.

Final Greetings

Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:23 - Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you,
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:24 - and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
Unchecked Copy BoxPhm 1:25 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
ESV Footnotes
Or for Christ’s service
Onesimus means useful (see verse 11) or beneficial (see verse 20)
For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; twice in this verse
ESV

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

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