Philemon 8-20
New Catholic Bible
Plea for Onesimus.[a] 8 Therefore, although I am confident that in Christ I have the right to command you to do your duty, 9 I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love. I, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus, 10 am appealing to you on behalf of my child,[b] Onesimus, whom I have fathered during my imprisonment.
11 He was formerly useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. 12 Therefore, I am sending him back to you, that is, I am sending my very own heart.[c] 13 I wanted to keep him with me so that he might be of service to me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I did not want to do anything without your knowledge, so that your good deed might be voluntary and not compelled.
15 Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever,[d] 16 no longer as a slave, but as more than a slave: as a brother. He is beloved especially to me, but even more so to you, both as a man[e] and in the Lord.
17 [f]Therefore, if you consider me to be a friend, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about the fact that you owe me your very self. 20 Yes, my brother, grant me some benefit[g] in the Lord. Set my heart at rest in Christ.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Philemon 1:8 With a touch of humor, Paul utilizes a double play on words. He plays with the meaning of the name “Onesimus,” which is “useful,” and with the meaning of another Greek word, chrestos, which is part of achrestos, the word for “useless,” and euchrestos, the word for “useful.” In the background is the point that chrestos sounds like Christos, which means “Christ.”
Paul also takes the responsibility to relieve any financial burden that Philemon may have incurred in the affair, but he ends up saying that it is Philemon who is more indebted to the Apostle himself! Indeed, the slave’s flight may turn out to be a grace—it offers Philemon the chance to acknowledge him as a “brother” in Christ. - Philemon 1:10 My child: Paul became a father to Onesimus by converting him (see 1 Cor 4:15; Gal 4:19).
- Philemon 1:12 My very own heart: a wonderful description at a time when slaves were regarded as things.
- Philemon 1:15 Paul reasons that since he has found Christ, Onesimus is returning to Philemon as a beloved brother in Christ rather than as just a slave. Master and slave are now both brothers in Christ. Hence, for Philemon to treat Onesimus solely as a runaway slave would be entirely unfitting with his Christian witness.
- Philemon 1:16 As a man: literally “in the flesh.”
- Philemon 1:17 Paul is doing the same thing for Onesimus with Philemon that Christ did for us with God the Father.
- Philemon 1:20 Benefit: the Greek for this word is another play on the name Onesimus: what Paul wishes to get out of the master is Onesimus himself; he wants to be able to make use of the Useful One.
