Passage

Philemon 1

Book: Philemon · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved and fellow-worker, 2. and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in thy 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 thee in my prayers, 5. hearing of thy love, and of the faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints; 6. that the fellowship of thy faith may become effectual, in the knowledge of every good thing which is in you, unto Christ. 7. For I had much joy and comfort in thy love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through thee, brother. 8. Wherefore, though I have all boldness in Christ to enjoin thee that which is befitting, 9. yet for love's sake I rather beseech, being such a one as Paul the aged, and now a prisoner also of Christ Jesus: 10. I beseech thee for my child, whom I have begotten in my bonds, Onesimus, 11. who once was unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable to thee and to me: 12. whom I have sent back to thee in his own person, that is, my very heart: 13. whom I would fain have kept with me, that in thy behalf he might minister unto me in the bonds of the gospel: 14. but without thy mind I would do nothing; that thy goodness should not be as of necessity, but of free will. 15. For perhaps he was therefore parted from thee for a season, that thou shouldest have him for ever; 16. no longer as a servant, but more than a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much rather to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 17. If then thou countest me a partner, receive him as myself. 18. But if he hath wronged thee at all, or oweth thee aught, put that to mine account; 19. I Paul write it with mine own hand, I will repay it: that I say not unto thee that thou owest to me even thine own self besides. 20. Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my heart in Christ. 21. Having confidence in thine obedience I write unto thee, knowing that thou wilt do even beyond what I say. 22. But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I hope that through your prayers I shall be granted unto you. 23. Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus, saluteth thee; 24. and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow-workers. 25. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." (Philemon 1:1-25, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker, 2. to the beloved Apphia, to Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the assembly 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. hearing of your love, and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints; 6. that the fellowship of your faith may become effective, in the knowledge of every good thing which is in us in Christ Jesus. 7. For we have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother. 8. Therefore though I have all boldness in Christ to command you that which is appropriate, 9. yet for love’s sake I rather beg, being such a one as Paul, the aged, but also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. 10. I beg you for my child, whom I have become the father of in my chains, Onesimus, 11. who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me. 12. I am sending him back. Therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, 13. whom I desired to keep with me, that on your behalf he might serve me in my chains for the Good News. 14. But I was willing to do nothing without your consent, that your goodness would not be as of necessity, but of free will. 15. For perhaps he was therefore separated from you for a while, that you would have him forever, 16. no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much rather to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 17. If then you count me a partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18. But if he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, put that to my account. 19. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to 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 beyond what I say. 22. Also, prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you. 23. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, 24. as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. 25. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." (Philemon 1:1-25, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, 2. And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house: 3. Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4. I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, 5. Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; 6. That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. 7. For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother. 8. Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient, 9. Yet for love's sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. 10. I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: 11. Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me: 12. Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels: 13. Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel: 14. But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly. 15. For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; 16. Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord? 17. If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. 18. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account; 19. I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. 20. Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord. 21. Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say. 22. But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you. 23. There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus; 24. Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers. 25. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. ^{Written from Rome to Philemon, by Onesimus a servant.}" (Philemon 1:1-25, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timotheus the brother, to Philemon our beloved and fellow-worker, 2. and Apphia the beloved, and Archippus our fellow-soldier, and the assembly in thy house: 3. Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ! 4. I give thanks to my God, always making mention of thee in my prayers, 5. hearing of thy love and faith that thou hast unto the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, 6. that the fellowship of thy faith may become working in the full knowledge of every good thing that [is] in you toward Christ Jesus; 7. for we have much joy and comfort in thy love, because the bowels of the saints have been refreshed through thee, brother. 8. Wherefore, having in Christ much boldness to command thee that which is fit, 9. because of the love I rather entreat, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ; 10. I entreat thee concerning my child, whom I did beget in my bonds, Onesimus, 11. who once was to thee unprofitable, and now is profitable to me and to thee, 12. whom I did send again, and thou him (that is, my own bowels) receive, 13. whom I did wish to retain to myself, that in thy behalf he might minister to me in the bonds of the good news, 14. and apart from thy mind I willed to do nothing, that as of necessity thy good deed may not be, but of willingness, 15. for perhaps because of this he did depart for an hour, that age-duringly thou mayest have him, 16. no more as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, especially to me, and how much more to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord! 17. If, then, with me thou hast fellowship, receive him as me, 18. and if he did hurt to thee, or doth owe anything, this to me be reckoning; 19. I, Paul did write with my hand, I, I will repay; that I may not say that also thyself, besides, to me thou dost owe. 20. Yes, brother, may I have profit of thee in the Lord; refresh my bowels in the Lord; 21. having been confident in thy obedience I did write to thee, having known that also above what I may say thou wilt do; 22. and at the same time also prepare for me a lodging, for I hope that through your prayers I shall be granted to you. 23. Salute thee doth Epaphras, (my fellow-captive in Christ Jesus,) 24. Markus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lukas, my fellow-workmen! 25. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [is] with your spirit! Amen." (Philemon 1:1-25, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Anonymous Gospels Objection Defeater

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.