1From Paul, now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, a fellow follower of the Lord.
2To our dear friend and fellow worker Philemon, to our sister Apphia, to our fellow soldier Archippus; and to the church that meets at Philemon’s house;
3may God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace. Request regarding runaway slave
4I always mention you in my prayers and thank God for you,
5because I hear of the love and the faith which you show, not only to the Lord Jesus, but also to all his people;
6and I pray that your participation in the faith may result in action, as you come to a fuller realisation of everything that is good and Christlike in us.
7I have indeed found great joy and encouragement in your love, knowing, as I do, how the hearts of Christ’s people have been cheered, friend, by you.
8And so, though my union with Christ enables me, with all confidence, to dictate the course that you should adopt,
9yet the claims of love make me prefer to plead with you – yes, even me, Paul, though I am an ambassador for Christ Jesus and, now a prisoner for him as well.
10I plead with you for this child of mine, Onesimus, to whom, in my prison, I have become a father.
11Once he was of little service to you, but now he has become of great service, not only to you, but to me as well;
12and I am sending him back to you with this letter – though it is like tearing out of my heart.
13For my own sake I should like to keep him with me, so that, while I am in prison for the good news, he might attend to my wants on your behalf.
14But I do not wish to do anything without your consent, because I want your generosity to be voluntary and not, as it were, compulsory.
15It may be that he was separated from you for an hour, for this reason, so that you might have him back for ever,
16no longer as a slave, but as something better – a dearly loved friend and follower of the Lord, especially dear to me, and how much more so to you, not only as a person, but as your fellow Christian!
17If, then, you count me your friend, receive him as you would me.
18If he has caused you any loss, or owes you anything, charge it to me.
19I, Paul, put my own hand to it – I will repay you myself. I say nothing about your owing me your self.
20Yes, friend, let me gain something from you because of your union with the Lord. Cheer my heart by your Christlike spirit.
21Even as I write, I have such confidence in your compliance with my wishes, that I am sure that you will do even more than I am asking.
22Please also get a lodging ready for me, for I hope that I will be given back to you all in answer to your prayers. Messages and Blessing
23Epaphras, who is my fellow prisoner for Christ Jesus, sends you his greeting;
24and Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers, send theirs.
25May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ rest on your souls.