BBE 1 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our dear helper in the faith, GNT 1 From Paul, a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy - To our friend and fellow worker Philemon, BBE 2 And to Apphia, our sister, and to Archippus, our brother in God's army, and to the church in your house: GNT 2 and the church that meets in your house, and our sister Apphia, and our fellow soldier Archippus: BBE 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. GNT 3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. BBE 4 I give praise to God at all times and make prayer for you, GNT 4 Brother Philemon, every time I pray, I mention you and give thanks to my God. BBE 5 Hearing of the love and the faith which you have to the Lord Jesus and to all the saints; GNT 5 For I hear of your love for all of God's people and the faith you have in the Lord Jesus. BBE 6 That the faith which you have in common with them may be working with power, in the knowledge of every good thing in you, for Christ. GNT 6 My prayer is that our fellowship with you as believers will bring about a deeper understanding of every blessing which we have in our life in union with Christ. BBE 7 For I had great joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been made strong again through you, brother. GNT 7 Your love, dear brother, has brought me great joy and much encouragement! You have cheered the hearts of all of God's people. BBE 8 And so, though I might, in the name of Christ, give you orders to do what is right, GNT 8 For this reason I could be bold enough, as your brother in Christ, to order you to do what should be done. BBE 9 Still, because of love, in place of an order, I make a request to you, I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner of Christ Jesus: GNT 9 But because I love you, I make a request instead. I do this even though I am Paul, the ambassador of Christ Jesus, and at present also a prisoner for his sake. BBE 10 My request is for my child Onesimus, the child of my chains, GNT 10 So I make a request to you on behalf of Onesimus, who is my own son in Christ; for while in prison I have become his spiritual father. BBE 11 Who in the past was of no profit to you, but now is of profit to you and to me: GNT 11 At one time he was of no use to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me. BBE 12 Whom I have sent back to you, him who is my very heart: GNT 12 I am sending him back to you now, and with him goes my heart. BBE 13 Though my desire was to keep him with me, to be my servant in the chains of the good news, in your place: GNT 13 I would like to keep him here with me, while I am in prison for the gospel's sake, so that he could help me in your place. BBE 14 But without your approval I would do nothing; so that your good works might not be forced, but done freely from your heart. GNT 14 However, I do not want to force you to help me; rather, I would like for you to do it of your own free will. So I will not do anything unless you agree. BBE 15 For it is possible that for this reason he was parted from you for a time, so that you might have him for ever; GNT 15 It may be that Onesimus was away from you for a short time so that you might have him back for all time. BBE 16 No longer as a servant, but more than a servant, a brother, very dear to me specially, but much more to you, in the flesh as well as in the Lord. GNT 16 And now he is not just a slave, but much more than a slave: he is a dear brother in Christ. How much he means to me! And how much more he will mean to you, both as a slave and as a brother in the Lord! BBE 17 If then you take me to be your friend and brother, take him in as myself. GNT 17 So, if you think of me as your partner, welcome him back just as you would welcome me. BBE 18 If he has done you any wrong or is in debt to you for anything, put it to my account. GNT 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to my account. BBE 19 I, Paul, writing this myself, say, I will make payment to you: and I do not say to you that you are in debt to me even for your life. GNT 19 Here, I will write this with my own hand: [I, Paul, will pay you back.] (I should not have to remind you, of course, that you owe your very self to me.) BBE 20 So brother, let me have joy of you in the Lord: give new life to my heart in Christ. GNT 20 So, my brother, please do me this favor for the Lord's sake; as a brother in Christ, cheer me up! BBE 21 Being certain that you will do my desire, I am writing to you, in the knowledge that you will do even more than I say. GNT 21 I am sure, as I write this, that you will do what I ask - in fact I know that you will do even more. BBE 22 And make a room ready for me; for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be given to you. GNT 22 At the same time, get a room ready for me, because I hope that God will answer the prayers of all of you and give me back to you. BBE 23 Epaphras, my brother-prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you his love; GNT 23 Epaphras, who is in prison with me for the sake of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, BBE 24 And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my brother-workers. GNT 24 and so do my co-workers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke. BBE 25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. So be it. GNT 25 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
GNT 1 From Paul, a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy - To our friend and fellow worker Philemon, GNT 2 and the church that meets in your house, and our sister Apphia, and our fellow soldier Archippus: GNT 3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. GNT 4 Brother Philemon, every time I pray, I mention you and give thanks to my God. GNT 5 For I hear of your love for all of God's people and the faith you have in the Lord Jesus. GNT 6 My prayer is that our fellowship with you as believers will bring about a deeper understanding of every blessing which we have in our life in union with Christ. GNT 7 Your love, dear brother, has brought me great joy and much encouragement! You have cheered the hearts of all of God's people. GNT 8 For this reason I could be bold enough, as your brother in Christ, to order you to do what should be done. GNT 9 But because I love you, I make a request instead. I do this even though I am Paul, the ambassador of Christ Jesus, and at present also a prisoner for his sake. GNT 10 So I make a request to you on behalf of Onesimus, who is my own son in Christ; for while in prison I have become his spiritual father. GNT 11 At one time he was of no use to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me. GNT 12 I am sending him back to you now, and with him goes my heart. GNT 13 I would like to keep him here with me, while I am in prison for the gospel's sake, so that he could help me in your place. GNT 14 However, I do not want to force you to help me; rather, I would like for you to do it of your own free will. So I will not do anything unless you agree. GNT 15 It may be that Onesimus was away from you for a short time so that you might have him back for all time. GNT 16 And now he is not just a slave, but much more than a slave: he is a dear brother in Christ. How much he means to me! And how much more he will mean to you, both as a slave and as a brother in the Lord! GNT 17 So, if you think of me as your partner, welcome him back just as you would welcome me. GNT 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to my account. GNT 19 Here, I will write this with my own hand: [I, Paul, will pay you back.] (I should not have to remind you, of course, that you owe your very self to me.) GNT 20 So, my brother, please do me this favor for the Lord's sake; as a brother in Christ, cheer me up! GNT 21 I am sure, as I write this, that you will do what I ask - in fact I know that you will do even more. GNT 22 At the same time, get a room ready for me, because I hope that God will answer the prayers of all of you and give me back to you. GNT 23 Epaphras, who is in prison with me for the sake of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, GNT 24 and so do my co-workers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke. GNT 25 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.