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a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, 2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets in your home:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and faith in the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. 6 I pray that you may be effective in sharing your faith through the understanding of all the good things that are in us through Christ Jesus. 7 For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, my brother.
8 For this reason, although I might be very bold in Christ and order you to do what is fitting, 9 yet I appeal to you instead on the basis of love—and I, Paul, being an elderly man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus, 10 appeal to you for my son, Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. 11 Once he was unprofitable to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
12 I am sending him back to you, for he is part of my own heart. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me, so that he might take your place and be of service to me during my imprisonment. 14 But I did not want him to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be done out of obligation, but of your own free will. 15 Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a little while, so that you might have him back for good, 16 no longer as a slave, but more than a slave—as a dearly loved brother. He is very dear to me, but even more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider my a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 And if he has wronged you in any way, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it—not to mention to you that you already owe me your own self. 20 Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
22 One more thing: also prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings, 24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.