Philemon 1 Cross References - Twentieth_Century

¹ From Paul, now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, a Brother. ² To our dear friend and fellow-worker Philemon, to our sister Apphia, to our fellow-soldier Archippus; and to the Church that meets at Philemon's house; ³ May God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace. ⁴ I always mention you in my prayers and thank God for you, ⁵ Because I hear of the love and the faith which you show, not only to the Lord Jesus, but also to all his People; ⁶ And I pray that your participation in the Faith may result in action, as you come to a fuller realization of everything that is good and Christlike in us. ⁷ I have indeed found great joy and encouragement in your love, knowing, as I do, how the hearts of Christ's People have been cheered, brother, by you. ⁸ And so, though my union with Christ enables me, with all confidence, to dictate the course that you should adopt, ⁹ Yet the claims of love make me prefer to plead with you--yes, even me, Paul, though I am an ambassador for Christ Jesus and, now a prisoner for him as well. ¹⁰ I plead with you for this Child of mine, Onesimus, to whom, in my parson, I have become a Father. ¹¹ Once he was of little service to you, but now he has become of great service, not only to you, but to me as well; ¹² And I am sending him back to you with this letter--though it is like tearing out of my very heart. ¹³ For my own sake I should like to keep him with me, so that, while I am in prison for the Good News, he might attend to my wants on your behalf. ¹⁴ But I do not wish to do anything without your consent, because I want your generosity to be voluntary and not, as it were, compulsory. ¹⁵ It may be that he was separated from you for an hour, for this very reason, that you might have him back for ever, ¹⁶ No longer as a slave, but as something better--a dearly loved Brother, especially dear to me, and how much more so to you, not only as your fellow man, but as your fellow Christian! ¹⁷ If, then, you count me your friend, receive him as you would me. ¹⁸ If he has caused you any loss, or owes you anything, charge it to me. ¹⁹ I, Paul, put my own hand to it--I will repay you myself. I say nothing about your owing me your very self. ²⁰ Yes, Brother, let me gain something from you because of your union with the Lord. Cheer my heart by your Christlike spirit. ²¹ Even as I write, I have such confidence in your compliance with my wishes, that I am sure that you will do even more than I am asking. ²² Please also get a lodging ready for me, for I hope that I shall be given back to you all in answer to your prayers. ²³ Epaphras, who is my fellow-prisoner for Christ Jesus, sends you his greeting; ²⁴ And Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow-workers, send theirs. ²⁵ May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ rest on your souls.

¹⁶ Let your light so shine before the eyes of your fellow men, that, seeing your good actions, they may praise your Father who is in Heaven.

¹⁴ For, if you forgive others their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also; ¹⁵ But, if you do not forgive others their offences, not even your Father will forgive your offences.

⁴⁰ He who welcomes you is welcoming me; and he who welcomes me is welcoming him who sent me as his Messenger.

⁴⁸ "Who is my mother? and who are my brothers?" ⁴⁹ Then, stretching out his hands towards his disciples, he said: "Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰ For any one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

⁵ And any one who, for the sake of my Name, welcomes even one little child like this, is welcoming me.

²¹ Then Peter came up, and said to Jesus: "Master, how often am I to forgive my Brother when he wrongs me? As many as seven times?" ²² But Jesus answered: "Not seven times, but 'seventy times seven.' ²³ And therefore the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he had begun to do so, one of them was brought to him who owed him six million pounds; ²⁵ And, as he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold towards the payment of the debt, together with his wife, and his children, and everything that he had. ²⁶ Thereupon the servant threw himself down on the ground before him and said 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' ²⁷ The master was moved with compassion; and he let him go, and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But, on going out, that same servant came upon one of his fellow-servants who owed him ten pounds. Seizing him by the throat, he said 'Pay what you owe me.' ²⁹ Thereupon his fellow-servant threw himself on the ground and begged for mercy. 'Have patience with me,' he said, 'and I will pay you.' ³⁰ But the other would not, but went and put him in prison till he should pay his debt. ³¹ When his fellow-servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and went to their master and laid the whole matter before him. ³² Upon that the master sent for the servant, and said to him 'You wicked servant! When you begged me for mercy, I forgave you the whole of that debt. ³³ Ought not you, also, to have shown mercy to your fellow- servant, just as I showed mercy to you?' ³⁴ Then his master, in anger, handed him over to the jailers, until he should pay the whole of his debt. ³⁵ So, also, will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each one of you forgives his Brother from his heart."

⁸ But do not allow yourselves to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Father, the heavenly Father.

³⁰ As for the useless servant, 'put him out into the darkness' outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.'

⁴⁰ And the King will reply 'I tell you, as often as you did it to one of these my Brothers, however lowly, you did it to me.'

¹⁷ "Teacher," answered a man in the crowd, "I brought my son to see you, as he has a dumb spirit in him;

²⁵ And, whenever you stand up to pray, forgive any grievance that you have against any one, that your Father who is in Heaven also may forgive you your offenses."

²⁰ And he got up and went to his father. But, while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was deeply moved; he ran and threw his arms round his neck and kissed him.

²⁴ For here is my son who was dead, and is alive again, was lost, and is found.' So they began making merry.

³² We could but make merry and rejoice, for here is your brother who was dead, and is alive; who was lost, and is found.'"

¹⁰ And so with you--when you have done all that you have been told, still say 'We are but useless servants; we have done no more than we ought to have done.'"

²⁸ Yet only to do what thou, by thy power and of thy own will, didst long ago destine to be done.

¹⁷ So Ananias went, entered the house, and, placing his hands on Saul, said: "Saul, my Brother, I have been sent by the Lord--by Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here--so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

³⁹ Peter returned with them at once. On his arrival, he was taken upstairs, and all the widows came round him in tears, showing the coats and other clothing which Dorcas had made while she was among them. ⁴⁰ But Peter sent everybody out of the room, and knelt down and prayed. Then, turning to the body, he said: "Tabitha! stand up." She opened her eyes, and, seeing Peter, sat up. ⁴¹ Giving her his hand, Peter raised her up, and, calling in the widows and others of Christ's People, presented her to them alive.

¹² As soon as he realized what had happened, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also known as Mark, where a number of people were gathered together, praying.

²⁵ When Barnabas and Saul had carried out their mission, they returned to Jerusalem, and took with them John, who was also known as Mark.

¹³ After this, Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and went to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

³⁷ Barnabas wished to take with them John, whose other name was Mark; ³⁸ But Paul felt that they ought not to take with them the man who had deserted them in Pamphylia, and had not gone on with them to their work. ³⁹ This caused such unpleasant feeling between them that they parted, Barnabas taking Mark and sailing for Cyprus,

¹⁵ And, when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us to become her guests. "Since you have shown your conviction," she said, "that I really am a believer in the Lord, come and stay in my house." And she insisted on our doing so.

²⁹ The commotion spread through the whole city, and the people rushed together into the amphitheater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were Paul's traveling companions.

² We went on board a ship from Adramyttium, which was on the point of sailing to the ports along the coast of Roman Asia, and put to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, went with us.

²³ They then fixed a day with him, and came to the place where he was staying, in even larger numbers, when Paul proceeded to lay the subject before them. He bore his testimony to the Kingdom of God, and tried to convince them about Jesus, by arguments drawn from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets--speaking from morning till evening.

⁷ May God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace. ⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ about you all, because the report of your faith is spreading throughout the world.

¹² They have all gone astray; they have one and all become depraved; there is no one who is doing good-no, not one!'

¹ I entreat you, then, Brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, for this is your rational worship.

¹³ Relieving the wants of Christ's People; devoted to hospitality.

²⁴ For my hope is to visit you on my journey, and then to be sent on my way by you, after I have first partly satisfied myself by seeing something of you. ²⁵ Just now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem, to take help to Christ's People there. ²⁶ For Macedonia and Greece have been glad to make a collection for the poor among Christ's People at Jerusalem.

³⁰ I beg you, then, Brothers, by Jesus Christ, our Lord, and by the love inspired by the Spirit, to join me in earnest prayer to God on my behalf. ³¹ Pray that I may be rescued from those in Judea who reject the Faith, and that the help which I am taking to Jerusalem may prove acceptable to Christ's People; ³² So that, God willing, I may be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and enjoy some rest among you.

⁵ Give my greeting, also, to the Church that meets at their house, as well as to my dear friend Epaenetus, one of the first in Roman Asia to believe in Christ;

⁷ To Andronicus and Junias, my countrymen and once my fellow- prisoners, who are men of note among the Apostles, and who became Christians before I did;

²⁰ And God, the giver of peace, will before long crush Satan under your feet. May the blessing of Jesus, our Lord, be with you.

²³ My host Gaius, who extends his hospitality to the whole Church, sends you his greeting; and Erastus, the City Treasurer, and Quartus, our Brother, add theirs.

⁹ For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's harvest field, God's building.

¹⁵ Though you may have thousands of instructors in the Faith of Christ, yet you have not many fathers. It was I who, through union with Christ Jesus, became your father by means of the Good News.

²² For the man who was a slave when he was called to the master's service is the Master's freed-man; so, too, the man who was free when called is Christ's slave.

¹ Am I not free? Am I not an Apostle? Have I not seen our Lord Jesus? Are not you yourselves my work achieved in union with the Lord? ² If I am not an Apostle to others, yet at least I am to you; for you are the seal that stamps me as an Apostle in union with the Lord.

⁷ Does any one ever serve as a soldier at his own expense? Does any one plant a vineyard and not eat its produce? Or does any one look after a herd and not drink the milk?

¹⁷ If I do this work willingly, I have a reward; but, if unwillingly, I have been charged to perform a duty.

²⁵ The secrets of his heart are revealed, and then, throwing himself on his face, he will worship God, and declare 'God is indeed among you!'

¹ With reference to the Collection for Christ's People, I want you to follow the instructions that I gave to the Churches in Galatia.

¹⁷ I am glad Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus have come, for they have made up for your absence;

¹⁹ The Churches in Roman Asia send you their greetings. Aquila and Prisca and the Church that meets at their house send you many Christian greetings.

²¹ I, Paul, add this greeting in my own handwriting. ²² Accursed be any one who has no love for the Lord. THE LORD IS COMING.

¹ To the Church of God in Corinth, and to all Christ's People throughout Greece, from Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and from Timothy, a Brother.

¹¹ And then many lips will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us in answer to many prayers.

²⁴ I do not mean that we are to dictate to you with regard to your faith; on the contrary, we work with you for your true happiness; indeed, it is through your faith that you are standing firm.

² If it is I who cause you pain, why, who is there to cheer me, except the very person whom I am paining? ³ So I wrote as I did, for fear that, if I had come, I should have been pained by those who ought to have made me glad; for I felt sure that it was true of you all that my joy was in every case yours also.

² You yourselves are our letter--a letter written on our hearts, and one which everybody can read and understand.

¹² With such a hope as this, we speak with all plainness;

²⁰ It is, then, on Christ's behalf that we are acting as ambassadors, God, as it were, appealing to you through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf--Be reconciled to God.

¹ Therefore, as God's fellow-workers, we also appeal to you not to receive his loving-kindness in vain.

⁴ I have the utmost confidence in you; I am always boasting about you. I am full of encouragement and, in spite of all our troubles, my heart is overflowing with happiness.

⁴ I have the utmost confidence in you; I am always boasting about you. I am full of encouragement and, in spite of all our troubles, my heart is overflowing with happiness. ⁵ Ever since we reached Macedonia, we have had no rest in body or mind; on every side there have been troubles--conflicts without, anxieties within. ⁶ But God, who encourages the downcast, has encouraged us by the arrival of Titus. ⁷ And it is not only by his arrival that we are encouraged, but also by the encouragement which he received from you; for he tells us of your strong affection, your penitence, and your zeal on my behalf--so that I am happier still.

¹³ In addition to the encouragement that this gave us, we were made far happier still by the happiness of Titus for his heart has been cheered by you all.

¹⁶ I am glad that I can feel perfect confidence in you.

¹² For, where there is willingness, a man's gift is valued by its comparison with what he has, and not with what he has not.

²² We are also sending with them another of our Brothers, whose earnestness we have many a time proved in many ways, and whom we now find made even more earnest by his great confidence in you. ²³ If I must say anything about Titus, he is my intimate companion, and he shares my work for you; if it is our Brothers, they are delegates of the Churches, an honor to Christ.

⁵ Therefore I think it necessary to urge the Brothers to go to you in advance, and to complete the arrangements for the gift, which you have already promised, so that it may be ready, as a gift, before I come, and not look as if it were being given under pressure.

⁷ Let every one give as he has determined before hand, not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves 'a cheerful giver.'

¹² For the rendering of a public service such as this, not only relieves the needs of your fellow-Christians, but also results in the offering to God of many a thanksgiving. ¹³ Through the evidence afforded by the service thus rendered, you cause men to praise God for your fidelity to your profession of faith in the Good News of the Christ, as well as for the liberality of your contributions for them and for all others. ¹⁴ And they also, in their prayers for you, express their longing to see you, because of the surpassing love of God displayed toward you.

¹ Now, I, Paul, make a personal appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of the Christ--I who, "in your presence, am humble in my bearing towards you, but, when absent, am bold in my language to you"-- ² I implore you not to drive me to "show my boldness," when I do come, by the confident tone which I expect to have to adopt towards some of you, who are expecting to find us influenced in our conduct by earthly motives.

⁸ Even if I boast extravagantly about our authority--which the Lord gave us for building up your faith and not for overthrowing it--still I have no reason to be ashamed.

²¹ I admit, to my shame, that we have been weak. But whatever the subject on which others are not afraid to boast--though it is foolish to say so--I am not afraid either!

¹⁴ May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion with the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

¹⁹ You for whom I am again enduring a mother's pains, till a likeness to Christ shall have been formed in you.

²⁸ As for ourselves, brothers, we, like Isaac, are children born in fulfillment of a promise. ²⁹ Yet at that time the child born in the course of nature persecuted the child born by the power of the Spirit; and it is the same now.

² Understand that I, Paul, myself tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will avail you nothing.

⁶ If a man is in union with Christ Jesus, neither is circumcision nor the omission of it anything, but faith, working through love, is everything.

¹⁰ I, through my union with the Lord, am persuaded that you will learn to think with me. But the man who is disturbing your minds will have to bear his punishment, whoever he may be.

¹¹ See in what large letters I am writing with my own hand.

¹⁸ May the blessing of Jesus Christ, our Lord, rest on your souls, Brothers. Amen.

² May God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace.

¹⁵ And therefore I, ever since I heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which prevails among you, and of your confidence in all Christ's People, ¹⁶ Have never omitted to thank God on your behalf, whenever I make mention of you in my prayers.

¹ For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus, the Christ, for the sake of you Gentiles--

⁶ That, by union with Christ Jesus and through the Good News, the Gentiles are co-heirs with us and members of one Body, and that they share with us in God's Promise.

¹ I urge you, then--I who am a prisoner in the Master's cause-- to live lives worthy of the Call that you have received;

³² Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, ready to forgive one another, just as God, in Christ, forgave you.

⁴ Nor shameful conduct, nor foolish talk or jesting, for they are wholly out of place among you; but rather thanksgiving.

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters, with anxious care, giving them ungrudging service, as if obeying the Christ; ⁶ Not only when their eyes are on you, as if you had merely to please men, but as slaves of Christ, who are trying to carry out the will of God. ⁷ Give your service heartily and cheerfully, as working for the Master and not for men;

²⁰ On behalf of which I am an Ambassador--in chains! Pray that, in telling it, I may speak fearlessly as I ought.

³ Every recollection that I have of you is a cause of thankfulness to God,

⁷ And, indeed, I am justified in feeling thus about you all; because you have a warm place in my heart--you who all, both in my imprisonment and in the work of defending and establishing the Good News, shared my privilege with me. ⁸ God will bear me witness how I yearn over you all with the tenderness of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And what I pray for is this--that your love may grow yet stronger and stronger, with increasing knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ Until you are able to appreciate all moral distinctions. And I pray, too, that you may be kept pure and blameless against the Day of Christ, ¹¹ Bearing a rich harvest of that righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

¹⁹ Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that, through your prayers and through a rich supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 'all this will make for my Salvation.'

²⁵ Yes, I am confident that this is so, and therefore I am sure that I shall stay, and stay near you all, to promote your progress and joy in the Faith; ²⁶ So that, when you once more have me among you, you, in your union with Christ Jesus, may find in me fresh cause for exultation.

¹ If, then, any encouragement comes through union with Christ, if there is any persuasive power in love, if there is any communion with the Spirit, if there is any tenderness or pity, ² I entreat you to make my happiness complete--Live together animated by the same spirit and in mutual love, one in heart, animated by one Spirit.

²⁴ And I am confident, as one who trusts in the Lord Jesus, that before long I myself shall follow. ²⁵ Still I think it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you now, for he is my brother, fellow-worker, and fellow-soldier, and he was also your messenger to help me in my need.

³⁰ For it was owing to his devotion to the Master's work that he was at the point of death, having risked his own life in the effort to supply what was wanting in the help that you sent me.

¹ So then, my dear Brothers, whom I am longing to see--you who are my joy and my crown, stand fast in union with the Lord, dear friends.

³ Yes, and I ask you, my true comrade, to help them, remembering that they toiled by my side in spreading the Good News; and so, too, did Clement and my other fellow-workers, whose names are 'in the Book of Life.'

⁸ In conclusion, Brothers, wherever you find anything true or honorable, righteous or pure, lovable or praiseworthy, or if 'virtue' and 'honour' have any meaning, there let your thoughts dwell.

¹ From Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and from Timothy, our Brother.

³ Whenever we pray, we never fail to thank God, the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, about you, ⁴ Now that we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all his People,

⁷ It is just what you learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow- servant, who, as a minister of the Christ, faithfully represents us,

⁹ And therefore we, from the very day that we heard this, have never ceased praying for you, or asking that you may possess that deeper knowledge of the will of God, which comes through all true spiritual wisdom and insight.

²² Slaves, always obey your earthly masters, not only when their eyes are on you, as if you had but to please men, but giving them ungrudging service, in your reverence for the Master.

⁹ With him will be Onesimus, our dear faithful Brother, who is one of yourselves. They will tell you all that is going on here. ¹⁰ My fellow-prisoner, Aristarchus, sends you his greeting, and Barnabas's cousin, Mark, sends his. (You have received directions about him. If he comes to you, make him welcome.) ¹¹ Joshua, who is called Justus, also sends his greeting. These are the only converts from Judaism who have worked with me for the kingdom of God; I have found them a great comfort. ¹² Epaphras, who is one of yourselves, sends you his greeting. He is a servant of Christ Jesus, and is always most earnest in your behalf in his prayers, praying that you may stand firm, with a matured faith and with a sure conviction of all that is in accordance with God's will.

¹⁴ Luke, our dear doctor, sends you his greeting, and Demas sends his. ¹⁵ Give my greeting to the Brethren at Laodicea, and to Nymphe, and to the Church that meets at her house.

¹⁷ Give this message to Archippus--'Take care to discharge to the best of your ability the office to which you were appointed in the Master's Cause.'

² We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all; ³ Recalling continually before our God and Father the efforts that have resulted from your faith, the toil prompted by your love, and the patient endurance sustained by your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

² For, although we had experienced suffering and ill-treatment, as you know, at Philippi, we had the courage, by the help of our God, to tell you God's Good News in spite of great opposition.

⁶ Nor did we seek to win honour from men, whether from you or from others, although, as Apostles of Christ, we might have burdened you with our support.

¹³ This, too, is a reason why we, on our part, are continually thanking God--because, in receiving the teaching that you had from us, you accepted it, not as the teaching of man, but as what it really is--the teaching of God, which is even now doing its work within you who believe in Christ.

¹⁹ For what hope or joy will be ours, or what crown shall we have to boast of, in the presence of our Lord Jesus, at his Coming, if it be not you?

¹⁹ For what hope or joy will be ours, or what crown shall we have to boast of, in the presence of our Lord Jesus, at his Coming, if it be not you? ²⁰ You are our pride and our delight!

² And sent Timothy, our Brother and God's minister of the Good News of the Christ, to strengthen you, and to encourage you in your faith,

⁷ On hearing his, we felt encouraged about you, Brothers, in the midst of all our difficulties and troubles, by your faith. ⁸ For it is new life to us to know that you are holding fast to the Lord. ⁹ How can we thank God enough for all the happiness that you are giving us in the sight of our God?

⁹ How can we thank God enough for all the happiness that you are giving us in the sight of our God?

¹ To the Thessalonian Church in union with God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, From Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

³ Brothers, it is our duty always to thank God about you, as is but right, considering the wonderful growth of your faith, and because, without exception, your love for one another is continually increasing.

⁴ Yes, and the confidence that our union with the Lord enables us to place in you leads us to believe that you are doing, and will do, what we direct you.

² To Timothy, my true Child in the Faith: May God, the Father, and Christ Jesus, our Lord, bless you, and be merciful to you, and give you peace.

² Those who have Christian masters should not think less of them because they are their Brothers, but on the contrary they should serve them all the better, because those who are to benefit by their good work are dear to them as their fellow Christians. Those are the things to insist upon in your teaching.

³ I am thankful to God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, when I remember you, as I never fail to do, in my prayers--night and day alike,

⁸ Do not, therefore, be ashamed of the testimony which we have to bear to our Lord, nor yet of me who am a prisoner for him; but join with me in suffering for the Good News, as far as God enables you.

¹⁶ May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus; for he often cheered me and was not ashamed of my chains.

³ Share hardships with me, as a true soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ A soldier on active service, to please his superior officer, always avoids entangling himself in the affairs of ordinary life.

¹⁰ for Demas, in his love for the world, has deserted me. He has gone to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹ There is no one but Luke with me. Pick up Mark on your way, and bring him with you, for he is useful to me in my work.

¹¹ There is no one but Luke with me. Pick up Mark on your way, and bring him with you, for he is useful to me in my work.

²² May the Lord be with your soul. God bless you all.

⁴ To Titus, my true Child in our one Faith: May God, the Father, and Christ Jesus, our Savior, bless you and give you peace.

¹⁴ Let all our People learn to devote themselves to doing good, so as to meet the most pressing needs, and that their lives may not be unfruitful.

¹ From Paul, now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, a Brother.

¹ From Paul, now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, a Brother.

¹ From Paul, now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, a Brother. ² To our dear friend and fellow-worker Philemon, to our sister Apphia, to our fellow-soldier Archippus; and to the Church that meets at Philemon's house;

² To our dear friend and fellow-worker Philemon, to our sister Apphia, to our fellow-soldier Archippus; and to the Church that meets at Philemon's house; ³ May God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace. ⁴ I always mention you in my prayers and thank God for you, ⁵ Because I hear of the love and the faith which you show, not only to the Lord Jesus, but also to all his People; ⁶ And I pray that your participation in the Faith may result in action, as you come to a fuller realization of everything that is good and Christlike in us. ⁷ I have indeed found great joy and encouragement in your love, knowing, as I do, how the hearts of Christ's People have been cheered, brother, by you.

⁷ I have indeed found great joy and encouragement in your love, knowing, as I do, how the hearts of Christ's People have been cheered, brother, by you. ⁸ And so, though my union with Christ enables me, with all confidence, to dictate the course that you should adopt,

⁸ And so, though my union with Christ enables me, with all confidence, to dictate the course that you should adopt, ⁹ Yet the claims of love make me prefer to plead with you--yes, even me, Paul, though I am an ambassador for Christ Jesus and, now a prisoner for him as well.

⁹ Yet the claims of love make me prefer to plead with you--yes, even me, Paul, though I am an ambassador for Christ Jesus and, now a prisoner for him as well.

⁹ Yet the claims of love make me prefer to plead with you--yes, even me, Paul, though I am an ambassador for Christ Jesus and, now a prisoner for him as well. ¹⁰ I plead with you for this Child of mine, Onesimus, to whom, in my parson, I have become a Father.

¹⁰ I plead with you for this Child of mine, Onesimus, to whom, in my parson, I have become a Father. ¹¹ Once he was of little service to you, but now he has become of great service, not only to you, but to me as well; ¹² And I am sending him back to you with this letter--though it is like tearing out of my very heart.

¹² And I am sending him back to you with this letter--though it is like tearing out of my very heart. ¹³ For my own sake I should like to keep him with me, so that, while I am in prison for the Good News, he might attend to my wants on your behalf. ¹⁴ But I do not wish to do anything without your consent, because I want your generosity to be voluntary and not, as it were, compulsory. ¹⁵ It may be that he was separated from you for an hour, for this very reason, that you might have him back for ever, ¹⁶ No longer as a slave, but as something better--a dearly loved Brother, especially dear to me, and how much more so to you, not only as your fellow man, but as your fellow Christian! ¹⁷ If, then, you count me your friend, receive him as you would me. ¹⁸ If he has caused you any loss, or owes you anything, charge it to me. ¹⁹ I, Paul, put my own hand to it--I will repay you myself. I say nothing about your owing me your very self. ²⁰ Yes, Brother, let me gain something from you because of your union with the Lord. Cheer my heart by your Christlike spirit.

²⁰ Yes, Brother, let me gain something from you because of your union with the Lord. Cheer my heart by your Christlike spirit. ²¹ Even as I write, I have such confidence in your compliance with my wishes, that I am sure that you will do even more than I am asking. ²² Please also get a lodging ready for me, for I hope that I shall be given back to you all in answer to your prayers. ²³ Epaphras, who is my fellow-prisoner for Christ Jesus, sends you his greeting; ²⁴ And Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow-workers, send theirs.

²⁴ And Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow-workers, send theirs. ²⁵ May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ rest on your souls.

¹ Therefore, Christian Brothers, you who, all alike, have received the Call from Heaven, fix your attention on Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our Religion.

¹⁴ For we now all share in the Christ, if indeed we retain, unshaken to the end, the confidence that we had at the first.

¹⁰ For God is not unjust; he will not forget the work that you did, and the love that you showed for his Name, in sending help to your fellow Christians--as you are still doing.

¹⁷ Obey your Leaders, and submit to their control, for they are watching over your souls, as men who will have to render an account, so that they may do it with joy, and not in sorrow. That would not be to your advantage.

¹⁹ And I the more earnestly ask for your prayers, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

²³ You will be glad to hear that our Brother, Timothy, has been set free. If he comes here soon, we will visit you together.

⁵ Listen, my dear Brothers. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the things of this world to be rich through their faith, and to possess the Kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?

¹⁴ My Brothers, what is the good of a man's saying that he has faith, if he does not prove it by actions? Can such faith save him?

¹⁷ In just the same way faith, if not followed by actions, is, by itself, a lifeless thing.

¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be cured. Great is the power of a good man's fervent prayer.

¹⁹ My Brothers, should one of you be led astray from the Truth, and some one bring him back again, ²⁰ Be sure that he who brings a sinner back from his mistaken ways will save that man's soul from Death, and throw a veil over countless sins.

⁵ for you who, through faith, are being guarded by the power of God, awaiting a Salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last days. ⁶ At the thought of this you are full of exultation, though (if it has been necessary) you have suffered for the moment somewhat from various trials; ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith--a thing far more precious than gold, which is perishable, yet has to be tested by fire--may win praise and glory and honour at the Appearing of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have never seen him, yet you love him; though you do not even now see him, yet you believe in him, and exalt with a triumphant happiness too great for words,

²² Now that, by your obedience to the Truth, you have purified your lives, so that there is growing up among you a genuine brotherly affection, love one another earnestly with all your hearts; ²³ since your new Life has come, not from perishable, but imperishable, seed, through the Message of the Everliving God.

¹⁰ Once you were 'not a people,' but now you are 'God's People'; once you 'had not found mercy,' but now you 'have found mercy.' ¹¹ Dear friends, I urge you, as pilgrims and strangers upon earth, to refrain from indulging the cravings of your earthly nature, for they make war upon the soul. ¹² Let your daily life among the Gentiles be so upright, that, whenever they malign you as evil-doers, they may learn, as they watch, from the uprightness of your conduct, to praise God 'at the time when he shall visit them.'

¹ Again, you married women should submit to your husbands, so that if any of them reject the Message, they may, apart from the Message, be won over, by the conduct of their wives,

¹⁶ and keeping your consciences clear, so that, whenever you are maligned, those who vilify your good and Christian conduct may be put to shame.

¹ As for the older men among you, who bear office in the Church, I, their fellow-Officer, and a witness to the sufferings of the Christ, who shall also share in the glory that is to be revealed-- ² I urge you to be true shepherds of the flock of God among you, not because you are compelled, but of your own free will; not from a base love of gain, but with a ready spirit; ³ not as lords of your charges, but as examples to your flock.

⁸ For, when these virtues are yours, in increasing measure, they prevent your being indifferent to, or destitute of, a fuller knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

³ It is of what we have seen and heard that we now tell you, so that you may have communion with us. And our communion is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

¹⁷ But, if any one has worldly possessions, and yet looks on while his Brother is in want, and steels his heart against him, how can it be said that the love of God is within him?

²³ His Command is this--that we should put our trust in the Name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, in accordance with the Command that he gave us.

¹ Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ has received the new Life from God; and every one who loves him who gave that Life loves him who has received it.

¹ Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ has received the new Life from God; and every one who loves him who gave that Life loves him who has received it. ² By this we know that we love God's Children--when we love God and carry out his commands.

⁴ It was a great joy to me to find the lives of some of your children guided by the Truth, in obedience to the command that we received from the Father.

¹² Though I have a great deal to say to you, I would rather not trust it to paper and ink, but I am hoping to come and see you, and to speak with you face to face, so that your joy may be complete.

³ For it was a great joy to me, when some Brothers came and testified to your fidelity to the Truth--I know that your own life is guided by the Truth. ⁴ Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to hear from time to time that the lives of my Children are guided by the Truth.

⁴ Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to hear from time to time that the lives of my Children are guided by the Truth. ⁵ Dear friend, whatever you do for our Brothers is done in a Christian spirit--even when they are strangers to you. ⁶ They themselves have testified before the Church to your love; and you will do well to help them on their way in a manner worthy of the service of God.

⁸ We, therefore, ought to give such people a hearty welcome, and so take our share in their work for the Truth.

¹⁴ I hope, however, it will not be long before I see you, and then we will speak face to face. Peace be with you. Our friends here send you their greetings. Greet each one of our friends.