| 1 | Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, |
| 2 | to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: |
| 3 | Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 4 | I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, |
| 5 | hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, |
| 6 | that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. |
| 7 | For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. |
| 8 | Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, |
| 9 | yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ— |
| 10 | I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, |
| 11 | who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. |
| 12 | I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, |
| 13 | whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. |
| 14 | But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary. |
| 15 | For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, |
| 16 | no 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. |
| 17 | If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. |
| 18 | But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. |
| 19 | I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. |
| 20 | Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord. |
| 21 | Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. |
| 22 | But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you. |
| 23 | Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, |
| 24 | as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers. |
| 25 | The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. |
