Philemon 1

1 Paul, prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy my brother, —unto Philemon the beloved, and a fellow worker of ours,

Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother: To Philemon our dearly-loved fellow labourer--

2 And unto Apphia our sister. And unto Archippus our fellow-soldier, and unto the assembly which meeteth, at thy house:

and to our sister Apphia and our comrade Archippus--as well as to the Church in your house.

3 Favour unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and Lord Jesus Christ.

May grace be granted to you all, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I am giving thanks unto my God—always, making mention, of thee, in my prayers,

I give continual thanks to my God while making mention of you, my brother, in my prayers,

5 Hearing of thy love, and of the faith which thou hast towards the Lord Jesus and towards all the saints, —

because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have towards the Lord Jesus and which you manifest towards all God's people;

6 To the end that, the fellowship of thy faith, may become, energetic, by a personal knowledge of every good thing that is in us towards Christ;

praying as I do, that their participation in your faith may result in others fully recognizing all the right affection that is in us toward Christ.

7 For, much joy, have I had, and encouragement, by occasion of thy love, in that, the tender affections of the saints, have had rest given them by thee, brother.

For I have found great joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of God's people have been, and are, refreshed through you, my brother.

8 Wherefore, though I have, much, freedom of speech, in Christ, to be enjoining upon thee that which is befitting,

Therefore, though I might with Christ's authority speak very freely and order you to do what is fitting,

9 Yet, for loves sake, I rather exhort, —being, such a one, as Paul the aged, now, also, even a prisoner of Christ Jesus, —

it is for love's sake that--instead of that--although I am none other than Paul the aged, and am now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus,

10 I exhort thee concerning my own child, whom I have begotten in my bonds, —Onesimus:

I entreat you on behalf of my own child whose father I have become while in my chains--I mean Onesimus.

11 Him who, at one time, was, unto thee, unserviceable, but, now, unto thee and unto me, serviceable;

Formerly he was useless to you, but now--true to his name--he is of great use to you and to me.

12 Whom I have sent back unto thee—him, that is, my own, tender affections!—

I am sending him back to you, though in so doing I send part of myself.

13 Whom, I, was minded, with myself, to detain, that, in thy behalf, unto me, he might be ministering in the bonds of the joyful message;

It was my wish to keep him at my side for him to attend to my wants, as your representative, during my imprisonment for the Good News.

14 But, apart from thy mind, I wished to do, nothing, that, not as by necessity, thy goodness should be, but, by choice.

Only I wished to do nothing without your consent, so that his kind action of yours might not be done under pressure, but might be a voluntary one.

15 For, peradventure, for this cause, was he separated for an hour, that, as an age-abiding possession, thou mightest have him back, — (aiōnios g166)

For perhaps it was for this reason he was parted from you for a time, that you might receive him back wholly and for ever yours; (aiōnios g166)

16 No longer as a servant, but above a servant—a brother beloved, very greatly to me, but, how much rather, to thee—both in the flesh and in the Lord!

no longer as a slave, but as something better than a slave--a brother peculiarly dear to me, and even dearer to you, both as a servant and as a fellow Christian.

17 If, therefore, thou holdest me as one in thy fellowship, take him unto thee, as myself;

If therefore you regard me as a comrade, receive him as if he were I myself.

18 And, if he hath wronged thee at all or oweth thee aught, the same, unto me, do thou reckon: —

And if he was ever dishonest or is in your debt, debit me with the amount.

19 I, Paul, have written [it] with, my own, hand, —I, will repay [it]; that I may not tell thee—that, thyself, unto me, thou still owest.

I Paul write this with my own hand--I will pay you in full. (I say nothing of the fact that you owe me even your own self.)

20 Yea! brother, I, would, from thee, have help, in the Lord: give rest unto my tender affections in Christ.

Yes, brother, do me this favour for the Lord's sake. Refresh my heart in Christ.

21 Confident of thine obedience, I have written unto thee, knowing that, even beyond what I say, thou wilt do: —

I write to you in the full confidence that you will meet my wishes, for I know you will do even more than I say.

22 At the same time, moreover, be also getting ready for me, a lodging; for I am hoping that, through your prayers, I shall be granted as a favour unto you.

And at the same time provide accommodation for me; for I hope that through your prayers I shall be permitted to come to you.

23 There salute thee—Epaphras my fellow-captive in Christ Jesus,

Greetings to you, my brother, from Epaphras my fellow prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus;

24 Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, —my fellow-workers.

and from Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

25 The favour of the Lord Jesus Christ, be with your spirit.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with the spirit of every one of you.