Philemon 1

²⁵But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs.

¹For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles...

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

⁹I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.

⁹For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

²⁵But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs.

¹⁷Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”

⁵Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my beloved Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.

¹⁵Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the church that meets at her house.

³Join me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

⁴A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who enlisted him.

¹⁹The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.

⁷To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁴The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

⁸First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed all over the world.

¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

³We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

³I thank my God every time I remember you.

³We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.

²We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers

⁴because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints—

¹⁵For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

³As for the saints in the land, they are the excellence in whom all my delight resides.

¹Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves those born of Him.

²By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments.

¹Now about the collection for the saints, you are to do as I directed the churches of Galatia:

¹³Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.

⁸For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

¹⁰so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

⁹For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

⁵who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

⁶In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials

¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

¹⁷So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.

¹³On account of this, we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were even more delighted by the joy of Titus. For his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.

⁴Great is my confidence in you; great is my pride in you; I am filled with encouragement; in all our troubles my joy overflows.

⁹How can we adequately thank God for you in return for our great joy over you in His presence?

³For I was overjoyed when the brothers came and testified about your devotion to the truth, in which you continue to walk.

⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

¹⁹After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?

²⁰Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

⁶Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.

⁸For even if I boast somewhat excessively about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed.

¹²Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

¹Now by the mildness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am humble when face to face with you, but bold when away.

²I beg you that when I come I may not need to be as bold as I expect toward those who presume that we live according to the flesh.

²As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.

²¹To my shame I concede that we were too weak for that! Speaking as a fool, however, I can match what anyone else dares to boast about.

²⁰Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.

¹Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

¹As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:

¹For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles...

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

²to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at your house:

³¹Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.

⁹With him I am sending Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

¹⁵Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

¹⁹My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

²To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

⁴To Titus, my true child in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

³⁷Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.”

³⁸The king replied, “Chimham will cross over with me, and I will do for him what is good in your sight, and I will do for you whatever you desire of me.”

¹¹Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is useful to me in the ministry.

¹“But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to put with my sheep dogs.

²What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them?

¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

³²But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

¹²All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

³⁰And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.

³²Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

²⁰So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

²⁵And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”

²⁰Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the Lord.

²¹Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²²Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!

¹For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles...

⁷It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me.

¹⁷I am glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you.

³⁰because he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for your deficit of service to me.

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

¹As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:

⁷Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.

²Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;

³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

¹⁷I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.

¹⁷If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility.

¹²For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

⁵So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you beforehand and make arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. This way, your gift will be prepared generously and not begrudgingly.

²⁰As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people.

⁵And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you.

⁶For the famine has covered the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting.

⁶And on that day the dwellers of this coastland will say, ‘See what has happened to our source of hope, those to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?’”

²⁸They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen.

²²Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord.

⁸But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.

²Those who have believing masters should not show disrespect because they are brothers, but should serve them all the more, since those receiving their good service are beloved believers. Teach and encourage these principles.

²²For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.

⁵Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

⁶And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

²²Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.

²³For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

²³As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you. As for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

⁴⁰He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.

¹²I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.

⁵And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.

⁶This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.

⁴⁸But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?”

⁴⁹Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers.

⁴Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.

⁵But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

¹¹See what large letters I am using to write to you with my own hand!

²¹This greeting is in my own hand—Paul.

²²If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!

²Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.

¹⁹My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,

²⁰consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

¹⁵Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

¹Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you yourselves not my workmanship in the Lord?

²Even if I am not an apostle to others, surely I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

⁷I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.

¹²I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.

⁷For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we have been reassured about you, because of your faith.

⁸For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord.

¹Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

⁴And we have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do what we command.

³I wrote as I did so that on my arrival I would not be grieved by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would share my joy.

¹⁶I rejoice that I can have complete confidence in you.

¹⁰I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be.

²²And we are sending along with them our brother who has proven his earnestness to us many times and in many ways, and now even more so by his great confidence in you.

¹¹as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the favor shown us in answer to their prayers.

²⁴And I trust in the Lord that I myself will come soon.

¹²I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come and speak with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

²³So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.

¹⁹because I know that through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, my distress will turn out for my deliverance.

¹⁶Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.

⁷You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,

¹²Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in the full will of God.

⁷Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow countrymen and fellow prisoners. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

¹⁰My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you greetings, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas. You have already received instructions about him: If he comes to you, welcome him.

¹⁰My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you greetings, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas. You have already received instructions about him: If he comes to you, welcome him.

¹⁰because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

¹¹Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is useful to me in the ministry.

¹⁴Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas send you greetings.

¹²And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.

³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark.

³⁸But Paul thought it best not to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.

²⁹Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

²²The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.

¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

²⁰The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

²³Gaius, who has hosted me and all the church, sends you greetings. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you greetings, as does our brother Quartus.