Philemon
English Standard Version
Greeting
1 Paul, (A)a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and (B)Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and (C)Archippus our (D)fellow soldier, and (E)the church in your house:
3 (F)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon's Love and Faith
4 (G)I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I (H)hear of your love and (I)of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full (J)knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.[a] 7 For I have derived much joy and (K)comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints (L)have been refreshed through you.
Paul's Plea for Onesimus
8 Accordingly, (M)though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do (N)what is required, 9 yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now (O)a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 I appeal to you for (P)my child, (Q)Onesimus,[b] (R)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 me (S)on your behalf (T)during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be (U)by compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why (V)he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 (W)no longer as a bondservant[c] but more than a bondservant, as (X)a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, (Y)both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me (Z)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 (AA)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. (AB)Refresh my heart in Christ.
21 (AC)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, for (AD)I am hoping that (AE)through your prayers (AF)I will be graciously given to you.
Final Greetings
23 (AG)Epaphras, my (AH)fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do (AI)Mark, (AJ)Aristarchus, (AK)Demas, and (AL)Luke, my fellow workers.
25 (AM)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Footnotes
- Philemon 1:6 Or for Christ's service
- Philemon 1:10 Onesimus means useful (see verse 11) or beneficial (see verse 20)
- Philemon 1:16 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; twice in this verse
Philemon
Contemporary English Version
1 From Paul, who is in jail for serving Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, who is like a brother because of our faith.
Philemon, you work with us and are very dear to us. This letter is to you 2 (A) and to the church that meets in your home. It is also to our dear friend Apphia and to Archippus, who serves the Lord as we do.
3 I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!
Philemon's Love and Faith
4 Philemon, each time I mention you in my prayers, I thank God. 5 I hear about your faith in our Lord Jesus and about your love for all God's people. 6 As you share your faith with others, I pray they may come to know all the blessings Christ has given us. 7 My friend, your love has made me happy and has greatly encouraged me. It has also cheered the hearts of God's people.
Paul Speaks to Philemon about Onesimus
8 Christ gives me the courage to tell you what to do. 9 But I would rather ask you to do it simply because of love. Yes, as someone[a] in jail for Christ, 10 (B) I beg you to help Onesimus![b] He is like a son to me because I led him to Christ here in jail. 11 Before this, he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.
12 Sending Onesimus back to you makes me very sad. 13 I would like to keep him here with me, where he could take your place in helping me while I am here in prison for preaching the good news. 14 But I won't do anything unless you agree to it first. I want your act of kindness to come from your heart, and not be something you feel forced to do.
15 Perhaps Onesimus was taken from you for a little while so you could have him back for good, 16 but not as a slave. Onesimus is much more than a slave. To me he is a dear friend, but to you he is even more, both as a person and as a follower of the Lord.
17 If you consider me a friend because of Christ, then welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me. 18 If he has cheated you or owes you anything, charge it to my account. 19 With my own hand I write: I, PAUL, WILL PAY YOU BACK. But don't forget you owe me your life. 20 My dear friend and follower of Christ our Lord, please cheer me up by doing this for me.
21 I am sure you will do all I have asked, and even more. 22 Please get a room ready for me. I hope your prayers will be answered, and I can visit you.
23 (C) Epaphras is also here in jail for being a follower of Christ Jesus. He sends his greetings, 24 (D) and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, who work together with me.
25 I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you!
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
