1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker,
2 to Apphia the beloved, to Archippus our comrade-in-arms, and to the church gathered at your house:
3 grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always give thanks to my God when I mention you in my prayers,
5 because I hear about your love and about the faith you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints.
6 I pray that your fellowship in the faith may prove effective as you come to recognize every good thing that is in you for Christ Jesus.
7 For we have much joy and comfort over your love, because the hearts of the saints have found rest through you, brother.
8 For this reason, though I have full freedom in Christ to command you to do what is proper,
9 I would rather urge you for love's sake, being who I am: Paul, an old man, and now a prisoner of Jesus Christ as well.
10 I urge you on behalf of my child, whom I fathered in my bonds, Onesimus,
11 who once was unprofitable to you but now is profitable to you and to me; him I have sent back.
12 You, then, receive him; he is my very heart.
13 I was minded to hold on to him here, so that on your behalf he could wait on me in the bonds I wear for the gospel.
14 Yet without knowing your mind I chose to do nothing, so that your good deed would come not out of obligation but willingly.
15 For it may be that he was taken away for an hour for this very reason, so that you might have him back eternally,
16 no longer as a servant, but above a servant, as a brother beloved—especially to me, and how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 If, then, you hold me to be your partner, receive him as you would receive me.
18 And if he has wronged you at all, or is in your debt, put it down to my account.
19 I, Paul, have written it in my own hand: I will make it good—not that I need tell you that you owe me even your own self besides.
20 Yes, brother, let me have some profit from you in the Lord; give my heart rest in the Lord.
21 I have written to you trusting in your obedience, aware that you will do even beyond what I say.
22 And at the same time, have lodging ready for me as well, for I hope that through your prayers I will be granted to you.
23 Greetings to you from Epaphras, my fellow captive in Christ Jesus,
24 from Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my co-workers.
25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.