Philemon 14-16

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹⁴ but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced.^{(A) 15} Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for the long term, ¹⁶ 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.^(B)