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I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. Our brother Timothy joins me in writing. Philemon, we are sending you this letter. You are our dear friend. You work together with us. 2 We are also sending it to our sister Apphia and to Archippus. He is a soldier of Christ together with us. And we are sending it to the church that meets in your home.
3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
4 I always thank my God when I remember you in my prayers. 5 That's because I hear about your love for all God's people. I also hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that what we share by believing will help you understand even more. Then you will completely understand every good thing we share by believing in Christ. 7 Your love has given me great joy. It has encouraged me. My brother, you have renewed the hearts of the Lord's people.
8 Because of the authority Christ has given me, I could be bold. I could order you to do what you should do anyway. 9 But we love each other. And I would rather appeal to you on the basis of that love. I, Paul, am an old man. I am now also a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. 10 I am an old man, and I'm in prison. This is how I make my appeal to you for my son Onesimus. He became a son to me while I was being held in chains. 11 Before that, he was useless to you. But now he has become useful to you and to me.
12 I'm sending Onesimus back to you. All my love for him goes with him. 13 I'm being held in chains because of the good news. So I would have liked to keep Onesimus with me. And he could take your place in helping me. 14 But I didn't want to do anything unless you agreed. Any favour you do must be done because you want to do it, not because you have to. 15 Onesimus was separated from you for a little while. Maybe that was so you could have him back for ever. 16 You could have him back not as a slave. Instead, he would be better than a slave. He would be a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even more dear to you. He is dear to you not only as another human being. He is also dear to you as a brother in the Lord.
17 Do you think of me as a believer who works together with you? Then welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me. 18 Has he done anything wrong to you? Does he owe you anything? Then charge it to me. 19 I'll pay it back. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I won't even mention that you owe me your life. 20 My brother, we both belong to the Lord. So I wish I could receive some benefit from you. Renew my heart. We know that Christ is the one who really renews it. 21 I'm sure you will obey. So I'm writing to you. I know you will do even more than I ask.
22 There is one more thing. Have a guest room ready for me. I hope I can return to all of you in answer to your prayers.
23 Epaphras sends you greetings. Together with me, he is a prisoner because of Christ Jesus.
24 Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke work together with me. They also send you greetings.
25 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
1:1–25 Many people wanted to stop Paul from spreading the good news about Jesus. That is why he had been put in jail. He greeted Philemon as his dear friend and brother. They worked together as partners to spread the good news and to strengthen God's people. Philemon was faithful to Jesus and showed love to others. This filled Paul with thanks and joy. Philemon and Paul loved each other very much. Paul didn't want to use his authority as an apostle to give Philemon a command. Instead, he asked Philemon to do something based on their love for one another. Paul asked Philemon not to punish Onesimus. In Paul's time Philemon had the right to put Onesimus to death. This was because Onesimus was Philemon's slave and he had run away. But Paul wanted Philemon to receive Onesimus back. Onesimus had helped take care of Paul while Paul was in prison. He had become as close to Paul as a son is to a father. Paul wanted Philemon to treat Onesimus not as a slave but as a brother. Onesimus could be as dear to Philemon as Paul was. This was because Philemon and Onesimus were now brothers in God's family. They could be brought back together in peace because they belonged to Jesus. Paul was willing to pay Philemon for anything that Onesimus had taken from him or done wrong. Paul also wanted Philemon to treat Onesimus the same way that he would treat Paul. This showed how closely Paul was joined to Onesimus. It was as close as how Jesus described being joined to his disciples in Matthew 10:40–42. Paul trusted that Philemon would do even more than what Paul asked. This showed Paul's hope that Philemon would set Onesimus free.