Philemon 1:3; Philemon 1:4; Philemon 1:5; Philemon 1:6; Philemon 1:7; Philemon 1:8; Philemon 1:9; Philemon 1:10; Philemon 1:11; Philemon 1:12; Philemon 1:13; Philemon 1:14; Philemon 1:15; Philemon 1:16; Philemon 1:17; Philemon 1:18; Philemon 1:19; Philemon 1:20; Philemon 1:21; Philemon 1:22; Philemon 1:23; Philemon 1:24

Philemon 1:3

3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Philemon 1:4

4 I always thank my God when I remember you in my prayers.

Philemon 1:5

5 That's because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus. I hear about your love for all of God's people.

Philemon 1:6

6 I pray that you will be active in sharing what you believe. Then you will completely understand every good thing we have in Christ.

Philemon 1:7

7 Your love has given me great joy. It has cheered me up. My brother, you have renewed the hearts of God's people.

Philemon 1:8

8 Because of the authority Christ has given me, I could be bold. I could order you to do what you should do anyway.

Philemon 1:9

9 But I make my appeal to you on the basis of our love for each other. I, Paul, am an old man. I am now also a prisoner because of Christ Jesus.

Philemon 1:10

10 I make an appeal to you for my son Onesimus. He became a son to me while I was being held by chains.

Philemon 1:11

11 Before that, he was useless to you. But now he has become useful to you and to me.

Philemon 1:12

12 I'm sending Onesimus back to you. My very heart goes with him.

Philemon 1:13

13 I would have liked to keep him with me. Then he could have taken your place in helping me while I'm being held by chains because of the good news.

Philemon 1:14

14 But I didn't want to do anything unless you agreed. Any favor you do must be done because you want to do it, not because you have to.

Philemon 1:15

15 Onesimus was separated from you for a little while. Maybe that was so you could have him back for good.

Philemon 1:16

16 You could have him back not as a slave. Instead, he would be better than a slave. He would be a dear brother. He is very dear to me. But he is even more dear to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

Philemon 1:17

17 Do you think of me as a believer who works together with you? Then welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me.

Philemon 1:18

18 Has he done anything wrong to you? Does he owe you anything? Then charge it to me.

Philemon 1:19

19 I'll pay it back. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I won't even mention that you owe me your very life.

Philemon 1:20

20 My brother, I wish I could receive some benefit from you because we both belong to the Lord. Renew my heart. We know that Christ is the one who really renews it.

Philemon 1:21

21 I'm sure you will obey. So I'm writing to you. I know you will do even more than I ask.

Philemon 1:22

22 There is one more thing. Have a guest room ready for me. I hope I can return to all of you in answer to your prayers.

Philemon 1:23

23 Epaphras sends you greetings. Together with me, he is a prisoner because of Christ Jesus.

Philemon 1:24

24 Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke work together with me. They also send you greetings.