Philemon 12-16

Tree of Life Version

¹² I sent him back to you—he is my very heart. ¹³ I really wanted to keep him with me, so that on your behalf he might serve me while I am in chains for the Good News. ¹⁴ But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness wouldn’t be by force but by free will.

¹⁵ For perhaps he was separated from you for a while in order that you might have him back forever, ¹⁶ no longer as a slave but more than a slave—as a beloved brother, especially to me but even more so to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.