Philemon 12-17

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

¹² I am sending him back to you in ^[a]his own person, [and it is like sending] my very heart.

¹³ I would have chosen to keep him with me, in order that he might minister to my needs in your stead during my imprisonment for the Gospel’s sake.

¹⁴ But it has been my wish to do nothing about it without first consulting you and getting your consent, in order that your benevolence might not seem to be the result of compulsion or of pressure but might be voluntary [on your part].

¹⁵ Perhaps it was for this reason that he was separated [from you] for a while, that you might have him back as yours forever,

¹⁶ Not as a slave any longer but as [something] more than a slave, as a brother [Christian], especially dear to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh [as a servant] and in the Lord [as a fellow believer].

¹⁷ If then you consider me a partner and a ^[b]comrade in fellowship, welcome and receive him as you would [welcome and receive] me.