1:1 From Paul,¹ a prisoner of Christ Jesus² and Timothy our³ brother, to Philemon, our dear friend⁴ and colaborer, 1:2 to Apphia⁵ our sister, to Archippus our⁶ fellow soldier, and to the church that meets in your house. 1:3 Grace and peace to you⁷ from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

1:4 I always thank my God⁸ as I remember you in my prayers,⁹ 1:5 because I hear¹⁰ of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love¹¹ for all the saints.¹² 1:6 I pray¹³ that the fellowship of your faith may become effective in the knowledge of everything good that is¹⁴ in us¹⁵ in Christ.¹⁶ 1:7 I¹⁷ have had great joy and encouragement because¹⁸ of your love, for the hearts¹⁹ of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

1:8 So, although I have quite a lot of confidence in Christ and could command you to do what is proper, 1:9 I would rather appeal²⁰ to you on the basis of love—I, Paul, an old man²¹ and even now a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus²²— 1:10 I am appealing²³ to you concerning my child, whose spiritual father I have become²⁴ during my imprisonment,²⁵ that is, Onesimus, 1:11 who was formerly useless to you, but is now useful to you²⁶ and me. 1:12 I have sent²⁷ him (who is my very heart)²⁸ back to you. 1:13 I wanted to keep him so that he could serve me in your place²⁹ during³⁰ my imprisonment for the sake of the gospel.³¹ 1:14 However,³² without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your good deed would not be out of compulsion, but from your own willingness. 1:15 For perhaps it was for this reason that he was separated from you for a little while, so that you would have him back eternally,³³ 1:16 no longer as a slave,³⁴ but more than a slave, as a dear brother. He is especially so to me, and even more so to you now, both humanly speaking³⁵ and in the Lord. 1:17 Therefore if you regard me as a partner, accept him as you would me. 1:18 Now if he has defrauded you of anything or owes you anything, charge what he owes³⁶ to me. 1:19 I, Paul, have written³⁷ this letter³⁸ with my own hand:³⁹ I will repay it. I could also mention that you owe⁴⁰ me your very self. 1:20 Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.⁴¹ 1:21 Since I was confident that you would obey, I wrote to you, because I knew that you would do even more than⁴² what I am asking you to do. 1:22 At the same time also, prepare a place for me to stay, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given back to you.

1:23 Epaphras,⁴³ my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you. 1:24 Mark, Aristarchus,⁴⁴ Demas⁴⁵ and Luke, my colaborers, greet you too. 1:25 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be⁴⁶ with your spirit.