Philemon - Bible Claret

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and our brother Timothy, to Philemon, our dear friend and fellow worker,

to Apphia our sister, to Archippus, our faithful companion in our soldiering, and to the church assembled in your house.

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

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

because I hear of your love and faith toward the Lord and all the saints.

I pray that the sharing of your faith may reveal all the good in us that is ours in Christ.

I am encouraged and comforted by your charity, brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you.

Therefore, although I have the authority in Christ to command you to do what is proper,

I prefer to appeal to you out of love. I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner for Christ Jesus.

I appeal on behalf of my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become while I was in prison.

Once, he was not helpful to you, but now he is very helpful to both you and me.

I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.

I would have liked to keep him with me so he could serve me on your behalf while I am in prison for the gospel,

but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might be voluntary, not forced.

Perhaps he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever,

no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord.

So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.

If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge it to me.

I, Paul, have written this with my own hand: I will repay it, not to mention your own debt to me, even your own self.

So, brother, I want you to do this favor for me in the Lord: refresh my heart in Christ.

Confident of your compliance, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

Meanwhile, prepare a place for me to stay, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings.

Also, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers, send their greetings.

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