Philemon 1:1-25 NASB20 - Bible AI

¹Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy [1]our brother, To Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker,

²and to Apphia [2]our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

⁴I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers,

⁵because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the [3]saints;

⁶and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective [4]through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you [5]for the sake of Christ.

⁷For I have had great joy and comfort in your love, because the [6]hearts of the [7]saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

⁸Therefore, though I have [8]enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper,

⁹yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, [9]an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—

Plea for Onesimus, a Free Man

¹⁰I appeal to you for my [10]son [11]Onesimus, whom I [12]fathered in my [13]imprisonment,

¹¹who previously was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.

¹²I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart,

¹³whom I wanted to keep with me, so that in your behalf he might be at my service in my [14]imprisonment for the gospel;

¹⁴but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion, but of your own free will.

¹⁵For perhaps it was for this reason that he was separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever,

¹⁶no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷If then you regard me as a partner, accept him as you would me.

¹⁸But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account;

¹⁹I, Paul, have written this with my own hand, I will repay it (not to [15]mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well).

²⁰Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

²¹Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.

²²At the same time also prepare me a guest room, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given to you.

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,

²⁴as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

²⁵The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.[16]