1 Paul,aver. 9; See Eph. 3:1 a prisoner for Christ Jesus, andbSee 1 Thess. 3:2 Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister andcCol. 4:17 Archippus ourdPhil. 2:25 fellow soldier, andeSee Rom. 16:5 the church in your house:
3 fSee Rom. 1:7 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 gSee Rom. 1:8, 9 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because IhCol. 1:4 hear of your love andiEph. 1:15 of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the fulljPhil. 1:9; Col. 1:9 knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.1Or for Christ's service 7 For I have derived much joy andk[2 Cor. 7:4, 13; Col. 4:11] comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saintslver. 20; 2 Tim. 1:16; [Rom. 15:32; 2 Cor. 7:13] have been refreshed through you.
8 Accordingly,m[1 Thess. 2:6] though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to donEph. 5:4 what is required, 9 yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and nowover. 1 a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 I appeal to you forpSee 3 John 4 my child,qCol. 4:9 Onesimus,rver. 13; 1 Cor. 4:15; [Gal. 4:19] whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve mesSee 1 Cor. 16:17 on your behalftver. 10; See Phil. 1:7 during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not beu[2 Cor. 9:7; 1 Pet. 5:2] by compulsion but of your own free will. 15 For this perhaps is whyv[Gen. 45:5, 8] he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 wSee 1 Cor. 7:22 no longer as a slave but more than a slave, asxMatt. 23:8; Col. 4:9; 1 Tim. 6:2 a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you,yCol. 3:22, 23; [Eph. 6:5] both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider mez2 Cor. 8:23 your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 aSee 1 Cor. 16:21 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord.bSee ver. 7 Refresh my heart in Christ.
21 cSee 2 Cor. 2:3 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, fordPhil. 1:25; 2:24 I am hoping thateSee 2 Cor. 1:11 through your prayersf[Heb. 13:19] I will be graciously given to you.
23 gSee Col. 1:7 Epaphras, myhRom. 16:7 fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so doiSee Col. 4:10 Mark,iSee Col. 4:10 Aristarchus,jSee Col. 4:14; 2 Tim. 4:10, 11 Demas, andjSee Col. 4:14; 2 Tim. 4:10, 11 Luke, my fellow workers.
25 kSee Gal. 6:18 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.