Copyright  Timothy E. Clontz 1999  All rights reserved.
The Letter of Paul 
to Philemon

1
	1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to 
Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker, 2 and to Apphia our 
sister, and to 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 always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 
because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the 
Lord Jesus and all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith 
may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing that is 
ours in Christ. 7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, 
my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through 
you. 
	8 Therefore, though I am bold enough in Christ to order you to 
do what is proper, 9 yet for love's sake I rather appeal to yousince I am 
such a person as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Christ 
Jesus10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have 
become in my imprisonment. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now 
he is useful both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him back to you, 
sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, so 
that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the 
gospel; 14 but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that 
your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own 
free will. 15 Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a 
while, that you might have him back for ever, 16 no longer as a slave, but 
more than a slave, as a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much 
more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 
	17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would 
welcome me. 18 If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, 
charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I 
will pay it backnot to mention that you owe me even your own self. 20 
Yes, brother, let me 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 say. 22 At the same time, prepare a guest 
room for me, for I hope through your prayers to be granted to you. 
	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. 

Philemon, page 1
