Prayer of Thanksgiving for Philemon

1 From Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy the brother, to Philemon, our beloved and fellow worker,

2 and to beloved Apphia and Archippus and our fellow soldier and the church which is at your house,

3 grace to you and peace from God our father and Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I thank my God, always making mention of you on the occasions of my prayers,

5 when I hear of your love and faith which you have for the Lord Jesus and for all the saints,

6 praying that the fellowship of your faith may be effective in acknowledgment of everything good among us in the cause of Christ Jesus.

7 For we have much gratitude and encouragement at your love, because the inner heart of the saints has been refreshed through you, brother,

Paul's Petition for Onisimus

8 which is why, although I have much frankness in Christ in instructing you about what is fit and proper,

9 yet for love's sake, I exhort you – being such as I am, Paul the aged, and now also the prisoner of Jesus Christ –

10 I exhort you concerning my own child, whom I begot in my bonds, Onesimus,

11 who was at one time useless to you, but is now really useful to you and me, whom I have sent back –

12 now would you receive him, that is to say my own inner heart,

13 whom I would have liked to hold on to for myself, in order that instead of you he might minister to me in the bonds of the gospel,

14 but I did not want to do anything without your opinion, so that your good deed would not be as it were under compulsion, but of free will.

15 For perhaps he absconded for a while for this reason: that you should receive him back permanently,

16 no longer as a slave, but above a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, and how much more to you with him both in the flesh and in the Lord.

Paul's Promise to Philemon

17 So if you consider me as a partner, receive him as you would me.

18 And if he has wronged you in any matter or owes you anything, reckon that to me.

19 I Paul have written with my own hand, “I will repay” – not to mention to you that you are for your part indebted to me for your own self.

20 Yes, brother, let me have the benefit of you being in the Lord: refresh my inner heart in the Lord.

21 Trusting in your obedience, I have written to you, knowing that you will even do more than what I say.

22 At the same time, also prepare me a guest-room, for I hope that through your prayers I will be granted release to you.

23 Epaphras my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus,

24 Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers, greet you.

25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.