Section 1–3

Paul and Timothy greet Philemon

When Christians in New Testament times wrote a letter, they usually started by doing three things. First they wrote the name of the person or people who were writing the letter. Then they wrote the name of the person or people who would be receiving the letter. Then they wrote a Christian greeting. Paul did all three things in his letter to Philemon. He included:

• The name of the person who wrote the letter: Paul (verse 1)

• The name of the person receiving the letter: Philemon (verse 1)

• A Christian greeting (verse 3)

Your translation may be easier to read if each of these three parts is a separate paragraph, as in the Good News Translation, Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, and Revised Standard Version versions.

Carefully consider the best way to arrange the information in verses 1–3 when you translate verses 1–3. What is the usual way to begin a letter in your language? Can you follow that style and still include the three parts from Paul’s opening Section? All of the information in this opening Section should also be in the opening Section of your translation. For example, do not take Paul’s name out of the opening paragraph even though writers in your language put their name at the end of the letter. After you have decided what is the best way to begin a letter in your language, follow that same basic way consistently in your translations of all of Paul’s letters.

Read verses 1–3 carefully in the Berean Standard Bible and the Good News Translation. Then read the following notes and the Display before you begin to translate.

1a

Paul: The apostle Paul wrote this letter. He began by writing his name. There is no verb in verse 1 in the Greek text. But many languages require complete sentences, so you may need to add a verb. Paul was writing a letter to Philemon, so you could use a form of the verb “write” or the verb “greet.”

It is not natural in some languages for someone to talk about himself in the third person. For example, it would not be correct in some languages for Paul to write, “Paul is writing to you.” In such cases, you could translate this in a first person form:

I, Paul, am writing this letter.

a prisoner of Christ Jesus: Paul was saying, “I am in prison because I do the work of Christ Jesus.” Good News Translation: “A prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus.” Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter. But that was not because he did something wrong. People put him in prison because he preached the Good News about Jesus Christ. Those who didn’t believe in Jesus Christ didn’t like Paul’s message, and so they put him in prison.

Christ Jesus: Paul and other authors who wrote New Testament books usually wrote “Jesus Christ” as Paul did in verse 3, instead of the name Christ Jesus, which Paul wrote here. The meaning is the same either way. If people who read your translation will think that Christ Jesus is a different person from “Jesus Christ,” you should use the more common order “Jesus Christ” here also.

1b

Timothy: Timothy also sent Philemon his greetings. Timothy was Paul’s close friend who worked for Jesus just as Paul did. Bible scholars think that Timothy probably did not help Paul write this letter. But he was with Paul at the time Paul wrote the letter, and he also wanted to greet Philemon.

brother: The word brother in this context refers to a fellow believer in Christ. Paul, Timothy and Philemon were probably not physically related to each other as members of the same earthly family are. Timothy was a younger Christian, a fellow believer of Paul and also of Philemon and the other Christians at Colosse.

The word brother as used among Christians means that they are spiritual brothers and sisters because they are God’s children. They are closely related to one another in this sense. Perhaps you can use the term “brother” for men who are Christians and “sister” for women who are Christians (as in verse 2). Or perhaps there is a word that you could use to include both men and women (such as “sibling” in English). If your language has different words for “older brother” and “younger brother,” use “younger brother” here in verse 1 because Timothy was younger than both Paul and Philemon. If “brother” means only a member of the same family in your language and no one will understand a spiritual relationship here, a footnote could explain how Christians used the term then. Or perhaps there may be another term you can use to show how one family member is related to another family member.

To Philemon: This means “We greet you, Philemon.” This was a way people wrote letters in Paul’s time. Philemon, who received the letter, understood the implied meaning “we send greetings.”

Philemon: Philemon was the main person Paul was writing this letter to. Philemon, who lived in the town of Colosse, was an important man and was probably rich. He was also the master of the slave Onesimus. Paul had helped Philemon to become a Christian (see verse 19b).

1c

our beloved: Both Paul and Timothy loved Philemon very much. You could translate the phrase our beloved as “We love you very much.” See Display for verse 1c.

fellow worker: The phrase fellow worker means that Philemon helped to spread the Good News, like Paul and Timothy did. He probably did not work together with Paul in the same place.

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