Philemon 1:1-13 ▼

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, making mention of you in my prayers,

5 because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints;

6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for the sake of Christ.

7 For I have had great joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

8 Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is proper,

9 yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—

10 I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I fathered in my imprisonment,

11 who previously was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.

12 I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart,

13 whom I wanted to keep with me, so that in your behalf he might be at my service in my imprisonment for the gospel;