ø     eBIBLE         ȸ             伺뵶     Ǵ    ȸҰ
  eBIBLE       ּ            
Library > Bible versions > The Message (MSG Bible) > Philemon > 1 >
Philemon  


1 : 1 Paul,a prisoner for Christ Jesus, andTimothy our brother,To Philemon our beloved fellow worker
1 : 2 and Apphia our sister andArchippus ourfellow soldier, andthe church in your house:
1 : 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 : 4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers,
1 : 5 because Ihear of your love andof the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints,
1 : 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the fullknowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.
1 : 7 For I have derived much joy andcomfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saintshave been refreshed through you.
1 : 8 Accordingly,though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to dowhat is required,
1 : 9 yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you&emdash;I, Paul, an old man and nowa prisoner also for Christ Jesus&emdash;
1 : 10 I appeal to you formy child,Onesimus,whose father I became in my imprisonment.
1 : 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)
1 : 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart.
1 : 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve meon your behalfduring my imprisonment for the gospel,
1 : 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not beby compulsion but of your own accord.
1 : 15 For this perhaps is whyhe was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever,
1 : 16 no longer as a bondservantbut more than a bondservant, asa beloved brother&emdash;especially to me, but how much more to you,both in the flesh and in the Lord.
1 : 17 So if you consider meyour partner, receive him as you would receive me.
1 : 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.
1 : 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it&emdash;to say nothing of your owing me even your own self.
1 : 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord.Refresh my heart in Christ.
1 : 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
1 : 22 At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, forI am hoping thatthrough your prayersI will be graciously given to you.
1 : 23 Epaphras, myfellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you,
1 : 24 and so doMark,Aristarchus,Demas, andLuke, my fellow workers.
1 : 25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.