Philemon 1

¹Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer,

²to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers,

⁵hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints,

⁶that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

⁷For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

⁸Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting,

⁹yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ—

¹⁰I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains,

¹¹who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.

¹²I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,

¹³whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel.

¹⁴But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.

¹⁵For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever,

¹⁶no 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.

¹⁷If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me.

¹⁸But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account.

¹⁹I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides.

²⁰Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.

²¹Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

²²But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,

²⁴as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.

²⁵The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.