Greetings from Paul and Timothy 1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus,a and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker, 2to Apphia our beloved,b to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at yourc house: 3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philemon’s Faith and Love 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. 6I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ Jesus.d 7We takee great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Paul’s Appeal for Onesimus 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 Jesus Christf as well. 10I appeal to you for my child Onesimus,g whose father I became while I was in myh chains. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. 12I am (him) sending back for you to receivei 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 benefitj from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord.k 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. Additional Greetings 23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings, 24as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. 25The grace of our Lord Jesus Christl be with your spirit. Amen.m Footnotes: 1 a F35 Jesus Christ 2 b CT our sister 2 c You and Your are singular throughout this letter, except in verses 3, 22, and 25. 6 d CT in Christ 7 e CT I take 9 f CT of Christ Jesus 10 g Onesimus means useful (see verse 11) or beneficial (see verse 20). 10 h CT does not include my. 12 i CT I am sending back to you 20 j Greek onaimēn, a play on the name Onesimus 20 k CT in Christ 25 l NA, SBL, and WH of the Lord Jesus Christ; F35 of our Lord Jesus 25 m NA, SBL, and WH do not include Amen. The Holy Bible, Majrity Standard Bible, MSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain. The MSB is the Byzantine Majority Text version of the BSB, including the BSB OT plus the NT translated according to the Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Majority Text (byzantinetext.com). The MSB includes footnotes for translatable variants from the modern Critical Texts (CT) such as the Nestle Aland GNT, SBL GNT, and Editio Critica Maior. Major variants between the Majority Text (MT) and Textus Receptus (TR) are also noted. For a few passages not included in the MT, the TR translation is denoted with [[brackets]] and also footnoted. This text is a first version draft and is open to public comment and translation recommendations. please send all corrections and recommendations to the Berean Bible Translation Committee through the contact page at Berean.Bible. Bible Hub |
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