Philemon
This brief and personal letter is Paul’s appeal on behalf of Onesimus, a runaway slave who has become a believer and a dear son to Paul during his imprisonment. Paul sends him back to his master Philemon, asking that he be received no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother.
With great tact Paul appeals not by command but for love’s sake, offering to repay whatever Onesimus owes, and gently reminding Philemon of his own debt to the gospel. It is a small masterpiece of Christian persuasion, putting reconciliation and brotherhood above the claims of property.
The Greek is the public-domain Nestle 1904 text; the English translation is my own.
Chapter 1
1
Παῦλος δέσμιος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφὸς Φιλήμονι τῷ ἀγαπητῷ καὶ συνεργῷ ἡμῶν
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker,
2
καὶ Ἀπφίᾳ τῇ ἀδελφῇ καὶ Ἀρχίππῳ τῷ συστρατιώτῃ ἡμῶν καὶ τῇ κατ’ οἶκόν σου ἐκκλησίᾳ·
and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:
3
χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4
Εὐχαριστῶ τῷ Θεῷ μου πάντοτε μνείαν σου ποιούμενος ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν μου,
I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers,
5
ἀκούων σου τὴν ἀγάπην καὶ τὴν πίστιν ἣν ἔχεις πρὸς τὸν Κύριον Ἰησοῦν καὶ εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους,
because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have towards the Lord Jesus and for all the saints,
6
ὅπως ἡ κοινωνία τῆς πίστεώς σου ἐνεργὴς γένηται ἐν ἐπιγνώσει παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν εἰς Χριστόν·
and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.
7
χαρὰν γὰρ πολλὴν ἔσχον καὶ παράκλησιν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀγάπῃ σου, ὅτι τὰ σπλάγχνα τῶν ἁγίων ἀναπέπαυται διὰ σοῦ, ἀδελφέ.
For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
8
Διό, πολλὴν ἐν Χριστῷ παρρησίαν ἔχων ἐπιτάσσειν σοι τὸ ἀνῆκον,
Therefore, though in Christ I have great boldness to command you to do what is required,
9
διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην μᾶλλον παρακαλῶ, τοιοῦτος ὢν ὡς Παῦλος πρεσβύτης νυνὶ δὲ καὶ δέσμιος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ,
yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you — I, Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus —
10
παρακαλῶ σε περὶ τοῦ ἐμοῦ τέκνου, ὃν ἐγέννησα ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς, Ὀνήσιμον,
I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.
11
τόν ποτέ σοι ἄχρηστον νυνὶ δὲ καὶ σοὶ καὶ ἐμοὶ εὔχρηστον,
Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.
12
ὃν ἀνέπεμψά σοι αὐτόν, τοῦτ’ ἔστιν τὰ ἐμὰ σπλάγχνα·
I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart.
13
ὃν ἐγὼ ἐβουλόμην πρὸς ἐμαυτὸν κατέχειν, ἵνα ὑπὲρ σοῦ μοι διακονῇ ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς τοῦ εὐαγγελίου,
I would have been glad to keep him with me, so that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel,
14
χωρὶς δὲ τῆς σῆς γνώμης οὐδὲν ἠθέλησα ποιῆσαι, ἵνα μὴ ὡς κατὰ ἀνάγκην τὸ ἀγαθόν σου ᾖ ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἑκούσιον.
but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, so that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own free will.
15
τάχα γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἐχωρίσθη πρὸς ὥραν, ἵνα αἰώνιον αὐτὸν ἀπέχῃς,
For perhaps this is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back for ever,
16
οὐκέτι ὡς δοῦλον ἀλλὰ ὑπὲρ δοῦλον, ἀδελφὸν ἀγαπητόν, μάλιστα ἐμοί, πόσῳ δὲ μᾶλλον σοὶ καὶ ἐν σαρκὶ καὶ ἐν Κυρίῳ.
no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother — especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17
εἰ οὖν με ἔχεις κοινωνόν, προσλαβοῦ αὐτὸν ὡς ἐμέ.
So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.
18
εἰ δέ τι ἠδίκησέν σε ἢ ὀφείλει, τοῦτο ἐμοὶ ἐλλόγα·
If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.
19
ἐγὼ Παῦλος ἔγραψα τῇ ἐμῇ χειρί, ἐγὼ ἀποτίσω· ἵνα μὴ λέγω σοι ὅτι καὶ σεαυτόν μοι προσοφείλεις.
I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it — to say nothing of your owing me even your own self.
20
ναί, ἀδελφέ, ἐγώ σου ὀναίμην ἐν Κυρίῳ· ἀνάπαυσόν μου τὰ σπλάγχνα ἐν Χριστῷ.
Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.
21
Πεποιθὼς τῇ ὑπακοῇ σου ἔγραψά σοι, εἰδὼς ὅτι καὶ ὑπὲρ ἃ λέγω ποιήσεις.
Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
22
ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἑτοίμαζέ μοι ξενίαν· ἐλπίζω γὰρ ὅτι διὰ τῶν προσευχῶν ὑμῶν χαρισθήσομαι ὑμῖν.
At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be given to you.
23
Ἀσπάζεταί σε Ἐπαφρᾶς ὁ συναιχμάλωτός μου ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ,
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you,
24
Μᾶρκος, Ἀρίσταρχος, Δημᾶς, Λουκᾶς, οἱ συνεργοί μου.
and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
25
Ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος ὑμῶν.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
A note on the text
The Greek above is the Nestle 1904 edition of the Greek New Testament — a critical text reconstructed from the earliest manuscripts, now in the public domain. The English alongside it is my own working translation, kept fairly literal so that it tracks the Greek closely; it is not one of the standard published versions.
The English here is my own translation, produced with the help of AI tools, and the Greek has been transcribed the same way; both may contain errors. It is shared in good faith for general interest and study — not as an authoritative or scholarly edition — and should be checked against a critical Greek New Testament and an established translation before you rely on any wording.