Philemon 1

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

⁴I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers, ⁵because I hear of the love and the faithfulness you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the holy ones. ⁶I pray that the shared life of your faith may become effective as you recognize every good thing that is within us, leading us toward Christ. ⁷For I have derived much joy and encouragement from your love, because the inner lives of the holy ones have been refreshed through you, brother.

⁸Therefore, though I have full confidence in Christ to order you to do what is required, ⁹I instead appeal to you on the basis of love. I, Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus, ¹⁰appeal to you on behalf of my child, whom I fathered while in these chains—Onesimus. ¹¹At one time he was "Useless" to you, but now he has become "Useful" to both you and me. ¹²I am sending him back to you in person—and in doing so, I am sending my very heart.

¹³I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might serve me on your behalf while I am in chains for the sake of the good news. ¹⁴But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be done out of necessity, but out of your own free will. ¹⁵For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a brief hour: so that you might have him back eternally, ¹⁶no longer as a slave, but more than a slave—as a beloved brother. He is especially dear to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷So, if you consider me a partner in our shared life, welcome him as you would welcome me. ¹⁸And if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account. ¹⁹I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. ²⁰Yes, brother, let me have some "profit" from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. ²¹I write to you confident in your obedience, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

²²At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be graciously restored to you. ²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings, ²⁴as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my coworkers. ²⁵The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.[/SPEAKER]