1:16–18
These verses (1:16–18) are one long sentence in the original text. It will probably be necessary for you to divide it into several sentences, as the Display does.
1:16a
the Lord: Here the Lord refers to “the Lord Jesus Christ.”
mercy: The word mercy means “to be kind,” “to help,” or “to have pity on.”
the household of Onesiphorus: The word household here refers to all the people who lived in Onesiphorus’s house as part of his family.
Onesiphorus: Onesiphorus was the name of another man. He was a faithful friend to Paul. Paul was contrasting his conduct with the conduct of the people whom he had mentioned in 1:15. The second Meaning Line of the Display for 1:16a includes a sentence that explicitly shows this contrast.
1:16b
because he has often refreshed me: The word refreshed probably refers to ways Onesiphorus encouraged Paul while Paul was in prison. It may have included visiting him, bringing him food and being kind to him in other ways. You may have a figure of speech in your language for the word “refresh” that will convey what Paul meant here.
1:16c
and was unashamed of my chains: The Berean Standard Bible literally translates the Greek word for chains. In those days people punished criminals by putting them in prison and fastening metal chains to or between their hands and feet. They did this to prevent the criminals from moving around and finding a way to escape. So chains is a figure of speech meaning that Paul was in prison.
In many languages, it will be necessary not to use this figure of speech but rather follow the Good News Translation, which says:
He was not ashamed that I am in prison
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.