Philemon 10-16

New American Standard Bible

Plea for Onesimus, a Free Man

¹⁰ I ^(A)appeal to you for my ^(B)[a]son ^[b](C)Onesimus, whom I ^[c]fathered in my ^[d]imprisonment, ¹¹ who previously was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. ¹² I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, ¹³ whom I wanted to keep with me, so that in your behalf he might be at my service in my ^[e](D)imprisonment for the gospel; ¹⁴ but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness would ^(E)not be, in effect, by compulsion, but of your own free will. ¹⁵ For perhaps it was ^(F)for this reason that he was separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, ^16 (G)no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, ^(H)a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both ^(I)in the flesh and in the Lord.