ISV(i)
9 I prefer to make my appeal on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an old man and now a prisoner of the Messiah Jesus,
10 appeal to you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment.
11 Once he was useless to you, but now he is very useful both to you and to me.
12 As I send him back, it’s like I’m coming along with him.
13 I wanted to keep him with me so that he could serve me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel.
14 Yet I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be something forced, but voluntary.
15 Perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you could have him back forever,
16 no longer as a slave but better than a slave—as a dear brother, especially to me, but even more so to you, both as a person and as a believer.