Section 8–21

Paul asks Philemon to accept back Onesimus, Philemon’s runaway slave

This is the main part of the letter. Paul stated clearly in verse 17 what he was asking Philemon to do. He said, “Welcome Onesimus back just as you would welcome me.” But before Paul asked Philemon to do this, he told Philemon several reasons why he should welcome Onesimus back. In verses 8–11, he told Philemon that he wanted him to do something to help Onesimus because Onesimus had become a Christian and would be useful to Philemon. Paul told Philemon that another reason why he should help Onesimus was because Philemon loved Paul and his other Christian brothers. In verses 12–14, Paul said that he was sending Onesimus back to Philemon, even though he wanted to keep Onesimus with him. In verses 15–16, Paul told Philemon why God may have allowed these things to happen, and that he (Paul) loved Onesimus very much. Then in verses 17–21, Paul finally said clearly that he wanted Philemon to welcome Onesimus. Paul offered to pay for anything Onesimus owed to Philemon. He also reminded Philemon that in the past he had helped Philemon become a Christian. This was another reason why Paul expected that Philemon would do what he asked.

In this Section (verses 8–21) Paul, as a Christian brother, asked Philemon to help Onesimus, but did not command him to do it.

Read verses 8–21 carefully in the Berean Standard Bible and the Good News Translation.

Paragraph 8–11 Paul appeals to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus

Read verses 8–11 again, then read the following notes before you translate.

8

So: “For this reason” (Good News Translation). This means that the words in verse 7 are the reason for what Paul said in 8–9a. He was thinking like this: Therefore (since Philemon loves his Christian brothers,) he should also love Onesimus. But Paul did not yet make all of this meaning explicit.

in Christ: There are two ways of understanding the meaning of the phrase in Christ :

(1) As an apostle of Christ, Paul had authority from Christ to command Philemon to do this.

(2) As a Christian brother, Paul had a close relationship with Philemon that freed him to tell Philemon to do this. Good News Translation follows this interpretation by translating this “as your brother in Christ.”

The following phrase in the Berean Standard Bible is: I am bold enough to order you . So the first interpretation fits better with this idea of giving an order in contrast to asking him to do something.

bold: The word bold means “not afraid.” Paul was not afraid to say whatever he should say.

order: To order someone means to command him. It means to tell someone to do something. As an apostle of Christ, Paul could have told Philemon to help Onesimus. But Paul decided it was better to ask him, as a friend and a fellow Christian.

to do what is proper: This refers to what Paul thought Philemon should do in order to act as a Christian should act. What Paul implied here was that he wanted Philemon to welcome Onesimus. But Paul did not say this openly until verse 17.

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.

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.

19a

Bible scholars do not know if Paul wrote the rest of this letter with his own hand or if he only wrote this part. It seems that normally Paul dictated his letters to someone else who wrote them on paper. But a few times he wrote a small part of the letter himself, as he did here.

I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it: Paul emphasized that he was promising to pay what Onesimus owed to Philemon by writing the promise himself in his own handwriting. Another way of expressing this is like the Good News Translation: “I, Paul, will pay you back.”

19b

Paul may have been smiling in the last part of verse 19. He probably knew that Philemon would not force Onesimus to repay him. He probably would not force Paul to pay anything, because Philemon owed something to Paul too.

In the middle of this last sentence in verse 19, Paul stopped referring to what he owed Philemon and started referring to what Philemon owed him. So the Berean Standard Bible uses a dash (—) to set the last part of this sentence apart from the text in the earlier part of the verse.

not to mention: This is a way of saying something that Paul didn’t really want to say because he knew it might cause Philemon to feel a little ashamed. It was Paul’s way of reminding Philemon of something Philemon already knew. There are other ways to translate the phrase “not to mention.” For example: “I should not have to remind you, of course,” (Revised Standard Version), “I won’t mention that” (New Living Translation (2004)).

you owe me your very self: Paul had helped Philemon to become a Christian, and so Philemon owed his new spiritual life, his whole Christian life, to Paul. This meant that Philemon owed Paul much more than Onesimus owed Philemon. Another way to translate the Greek word seauton, “your own self,” is “your very soul.” Here are two alternate ways to translate this whole phrase:

Your debt to me is big because through me you received eternal life.

-or-

You owe a lot to me because I helped you believe in Christ.

© 1996, 2020 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.

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.

9a

I prefer: The phrase I prefer indicates that Paul wanted to appeal to Philemon on the basis of love instead of ordering him what to do.

to appeal: Paul was asking Philemon to do something. This was not the same as telling him to do it. And he was not asking a question.

on the basis of love: Rather than ordering Philemon to obey a command, Paul wanted Philemon to help Onesimus because of love. But it is not clear who loved whom. There are three interpretations:

(1) Philemon should do what Paul wanted simply because he loved Paul.

(2) Philemon should do what he ought to do, not because of a command, but because he loved all of God’s people.

(3) Paul did not use his authority to tell Philemon what to do. The reason was: Paul loved Philemon. Good News Translation follows this third interpretation.

All three interpretations are possible, and perhaps Paul was thinking about all these meanings when he wrote this passage. But the first interpretation seems most likely because of the following words in 9b. Verse part 9b implies that Philemon should show that he was thankful to Paul, an old man in prison. And he also should be thankful for Paul helping him to trust in Christ.

9b

I, Paul: Paul was giving reasons why Philemon should agree to do what Paul asked him to do. For example:

• He was Philemon’s friend, Paul.

• He was an old man.

• He was suffering because he trusted in Christ.

am now aged: The Greek word presbutēs has two possible meanings in this verse:

(1) “old man” (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Jerusalem Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Living Translation (2004), King James Version)

(2) “ambassador,” a man who speaks for important people (Good News Translation, New English Bible, Revised Standard Version)

The phrase am now aged probably represents the right meaning in this verse because Paul had just said that he was not giving an order to Philemon, as a man of authority (verse 8) would do. Paul, as an aged man in prison for Christ (verse 9), was appealing to Philemon.

a prisoner: See notes on verse 1a.

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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.

20a

Yes, brother: Paul was again asking Philemon to welcome Onesimus. See verse 17.

some benefit: Paul was not asking Philemon to help him in some general way. He wanted Philemon to do a specific thing for him. He wanted him to forgive Onesimus and receive him back. So the meaning is clearer in the Contemporary English Version: “do this for me” (referring to the favor Paul asked for in verse 17).

in the Lord: The main idea of this phrase seems to be that Paul wanted Philemon to think about Paul’s request as a fellow believer in Christ would. And he wanted Philemon to think of Onesimus as a fellow Christian, not only as a slave. Paul believed that as Philemon thought like this, he would do what Paul was asking him to do.

20b

Refresh my heart: “Cheer me up,” “make me happy,” “set my heart at rest,” “relieve my worry.” Paul was saying, in other words here, what he already said in verse 20a. He used the same phrase here that he used in verse 7.

in Christ: This is the same kind of phrase as “in the Lord” (20a). Another way to say it is: “as a fellow Christian.”

Verse 20b means the same as verse 20a. Paul was still saying that he wanted Philemon to do what he had asked him to do. Here are two ways to translate it:

Make me happy as a Christian brother by doing this favor for me.

-or-

Cause me to be happy as your Christian brother: do this favor for me.

© 1996, 2020 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.

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.

10a

I appeal to you: Paul was asking Philemon to do something. See verse 9a notes. But Paul did not yet tell Philemon what he wanted him to do.

for: Paul was asking Philemon to do something “in regard to” Onesimus, or “on behalf of” Onesimus.

my child: Onesimus was not Paul’s physical child. But he was like a son to Paul because, while Paul was in prison, he had helped Onesimus to believe in Christ. Just as a father helps give physical life to his son, Paul had helped give spiritual life to Onesimus.

Onesimus: The name Onesimus is a Greek word which means “useful, profitable, helpful” (see note on “useless” in verse 11). Many masters named their slaves Onesimus.

10b

chains: The Greek word desmois here means “bonds” or “chains.” At the time Paul wrote this letter, the Romans often locked important prisoners in chains while they were in prison. Paul used chains as figurative language for being in prison.

Paul was in prison because he had been preaching the Gospel. But this does not mean that Onesimus was also in prison. He was probably only visiting Paul. If Onesimus, too, had been a prisoner, Paul could not have sent him back to Philemon (verse 12).

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.

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.

21

This verse is a summary of what Paul was asking Philemon to do for Onesimus. Paul believed quite strongly that Philemon would do what he was asking him to do. And Paul may also have been thinking as he wrote this verse that perhaps Philemon would cancel all of Onesimus’ debt. See notes on verses 19 and 20.

21a

confident: Paul meant, “I am sure,” or, “I know.” He was reassuring Philemon that he believed that Philemon would be willing to do what Paul was asking him to do.

your obedience: The Greek words translated your obedience literally mean “that you will agree to my request.” Paul had said in verses 8 and 9 that he was asking Philemon to do only what Philemon chose willingly to do. He was not ordering him. The way the Contemporary English Version translates it is probably closer to the actual meaning: “knowing that you will do what I ask you.”

I write: Paul himself wrote the part in verse 19 but probably did not write the whole letter with his own hand. He usually had someone write for him while Paul told him what to write. Paul was saying here that he was the one who had chosen what words to put in the letter.

21b

even more than I ask: Paul believed that Philemon would do all that was right as a Christian. This meant not only doing what Paul asked, which was to accept Onesimus back, but doing more as well. Paul may have been thinking about two things when he said even more : (a) Perhaps Philemon would not force Onesimus or Paul to repay any of Onesimus’ debts. And (b) perhaps Philemon would free Onesimus from slavery. But Bible scholars do not know whether Paul was thinking this, and they don’t know if Philemon did either of these things.

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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.

11

Paul used these words in verse 11 to encourage Philemon to act favorably toward Onesimus.

11a

Formerly: This refers to the time after Onesimus ran away from Philemon and before Onesimus met Paul.

11a-b

useless…useful: The name Onesimus means “useful” (verse 10a). When Onesimus ran away from his master Philemon, he became useless (no longer useful) to him, which was opposite to what his name meant. But when Onesimus became a Christian, he became useful (helpful) again, so that the meaning of his name fit him again. See Display for verse 11a and 11b.

11b

to you and to me: Onesimus helped Paul while Paul was in prison. And when Onesimus returned to Philemon as his slave, he would help him and obey him. So he now could be useful to both Philemon and Paul.

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Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.

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.

Section 22–25

Others greet Philemon

In verses 22-25 Paul wrote to the group of Christians who were with Philemon. So he used “you (plur)” in these verses as he did in verse 3. But in the main Sections of the letter (verses 4–21) he used “you (singular)” rather than “you (plur).” This is one thing that shows that verses 1–3 and verses 22–25 are separate from the other Sections of the letter. So verses 22–25, as a unit, are also a Section that is separate from the other parts of the letter.

After making his main point in the letter in verses 8–21, Paul finished the letter with a few final words in verses 22–25. He asked Philemon to prepare a guest room for him (verse 22), because he hoped that God would answer the prayers of the Christians at Colosse by allowing him to visit them again. Then Paul sent greetings to Philemon from five Christian friends who were there with Paul (verses 23–24). These peoples’ names are also in Colossians 4:10–14. Finally, Paul ended the letter with a Christian blessing (verse 25).

Read verses 22–25 carefully in the Berean Standard Bible and the Good News Translation.

Paragraph 22 Paul asks Philemon to prepare for Paul to come

In this verse, Paul asked Philemon to get things ready for Paul to come and visit Philemon.

Read verse 22 again.

22a

In the meantime: You could translate the Greek words here: “At the same time.” For example:

⌊ At the same time that I am asking this favor for Onesimus,⌋I will ask another favor ⌊for myself. ⌋

prepare a guest room for me: Paul was asking Philemon to prepare a place for him to stay at Colosse. This would be a place in Philemon’s house where Paul could sleep and where Philemon’s servants could cook food for him. Paul apparently thought that the people who had put him in prison would soon free him from prison.

22b

I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you: Paul was not simply saying that he wanted to go and see Philemon and the Colossian Christians. He was saying that someone else—probably God—would need to cause this to happen.

Here are two examples of a free translation of this part of verse 22:

I hope that God will make a way for me to become free so I can see you again.

I hope that God will cause those who imprisoned me to free me so I can see you again.

I hope: Paul did not say that he was sure the Roman leaders would free him, but he wanted and expected this to happen. Bible scholars do not know whether Paul ever went to Colosse again or if he ever saw Philemon again.

through your prayers: Paul knew that the Christians in Colosse were praying that he would be able to leave prison. So he was saying that, if he became free, it would be because God had answered their prayers.

restored to you: Paul hoped that the people who had put him in prison would release him, and that as a result, he would be able to visit the Colossians.

to you: Paul used you (plur) two times in this verse. So here again he was writing not only to Philemon but also to the Christians at Colosse who worshipped God in Philemon’s house.

© 1996, 2020 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.

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.