Philemon 4–21

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

⁵because I ^ahear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the ¹saints;

⁶and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective ¹through the ^afull knowledge of every good thing which is in you ²for the sake of Christ.

⁷For I have come to have much ^ajoy and comfort in your love, because the ¹hearts of the ²saints have been ^brefreshed through you, brother.

⁸Therefore, ^athough I have much boldness in Christ to command you to do what is ^bproper,

⁹yet for love’s sake I rather ^aplead with you—since I am such a person as Paul, ¹the ^baged, and now also ^ca prisoner of ^dChrist Jesus—

Plea for Onesimus

¹⁰I ^aplead with you for my ^bchild ^1cOnesimus, of whom I became a ²father in my chains,

¹¹who formerly 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, my very heart,

¹³whom I intended to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my ^achains for the gospel,

¹⁴but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would ^anot be, in effect, by compulsion but voluntary.

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

^16ano longer as a slave, but more than a slave, ^ba beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both ^cin the flesh and in the Lord.

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

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

^19aI, Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I will repay it (^bnot to ¹mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well).

²⁰Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord. ^aRefresh my heart in Christ!

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