To Philemon
our dear friend and fellow worker— 2 also to Apphia our sister and Archippus
our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home:
3 Grace and
peace to you [The Greek is plural; also in verses 22 and 25; elsewhere in this letter “you” is singular.] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
and Prayer
4 I always
thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear about your love
for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that your
partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your
understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. 7 Your love
has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed
the hearts of the Lord’s people.
Paul’s Plea
for Onesimus
8 Therefore,
although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9
yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than
Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10 that I appeal to
you for my son Onesimus,[Onesimus means useful.] who became my son while I was in chains. 11
Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to
me.
12 I am
sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him
with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for
the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that
any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the
reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him
back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear
brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and
as a brother in the Lord.
17 So if you
consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done
you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing
this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your
very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the
Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to
you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
22 And one
thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you
in answer to your prayers.
23 Epaphras,
my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24 And so do Mark,
Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.
25 The grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
NOTES:
1 Prisoner: as often elsewhere (cf. Romans, 1 Corinthians,
Galatians especially), the second word in Greek enunciates the theme and sets
the tone of the letter. Here it is the prisoner appealing rather than the
apostle commanding.
2 Apphia our sister: sister is here used (like brother) to
indicate a fellow Christian. The church at your house: your here is singular.
It more likely refers to Philemon than to the last one named, Archippus;
Philemon is then the owner of the slave Onesimus (Phlm 10). An alternate view
is that the actual master of the slave is Archippus and that the one to whom
the letter is addressed, Philemon, is the most prominent Christian there; see
note on Col 4:17.
3 Grace…and peace: for this greeting, which may be a
combination of Greek and Aramaic epistolary formulae, see note on Rom 1:1–7.
4 In my prayers: literally, “at the time of my prayers.”
5 Holy ones: a common term for members of the Christian
community (so also Phlm 7).
6 In us: some good ancient manuscripts have in you (plural).
That leads to Christ: leads to translates the Greek preposition eis, indicating
direction or purpose.
7 Encouragement: the Greek word paraklēsis is cognate with
the verb translated “urge” in Phlm 9, 10, and serves as an introduction to
Paul’s plea. Hearts: literally, “bowels,” expressing in Semitic fashion the
seat of the emotions, one’s “inmost self.” The same Greek word is used in Phlm
12 and again in Phlm 20, where it forms a literary inclusion marking off the
body of the letter.
8 Full right: often translated “boldness,” the Greek word
parrēsia connotes the full franchise of speech, as the right of a citizen to
speak before the body politic, claimed by the Athenians as their privilege
(Euripides).
9 Old man: some editors conjecture that Paul here used a similar
Greek word meaning “ambassador” (cf. Eph 6:20). This conjecture heightens the
contrast with “prisoner” but is totally without manuscript support.
11 Useless…useful: here Paul plays on the name Onesimus,
which means “useful” or “beneficial.” The verb translated “profit” in Phlm 20
is cognate.
13 Serve: the Greek diakoneō could connote a ministry.
15 Was away from: literally, “was separated from,” but the
same verb means simply “left” in Acts 18:1. It is a euphemism for his running
away.
16 As a man: literally, “in the flesh.” With this and the
following phrase, Paul describes the natural and spiritual orders.
18–19 Charge it to me…I will pay: technical legal and
commercial terms in account keeping and acknowledgment of indebtedness.
23–24 Epaphras: a Colossian who founded the church there
(Col 1:7) and perhaps also in Laodicea and Hierapolis (Col 2:1; 4:12–13).
Aristarchus: a native of Thessalonica and fellow worker of Paul (Acts 19:29;
20:4; 27:2). For Mark, Demas, and Luke, see 2 Tm 4:9–13 and the note there.
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