• Salutation

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

  • Philemon’s Love and Faith

  • 4 I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers,
  • 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints;
  • 6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for the sake of Christ.
  • 7 For I have had great joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
  • 8 Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper,
  • 9 yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—

  • Plea for Onesimus, a Free Man

  • 10 I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I fathered in my imprisonment,
  • 11 who previously was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.
  • 12 I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart,
  • 13 whom I wanted to keep with me, so that in your behalf he might be at my service in my imprisonment for the gospel;
  • 14 but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion, but of your own free will.
  • 15 For perhaps it was for this reason that he was separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever,
  • 16 no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
  • 17 If then you regard me as a partner, accept him as you would me.
  • 18 But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account;
  • 19 I, Paul, have written this with my own hand, I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well).
  • 20 Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.
  • 21 Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.
  • 22 At the same time also prepare me a guest room, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given to you.
  • 23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,
  • 24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
  • 25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.