Translation commentary on Philemon 1:9

Because I love you represents the Greek “on account of love,” which might be rendered impersonally “on the basis of (Christian) love,” or mutually, “because we love another” (Barclay). The rendering of love in this context should suggest friendship and sincere appreciation.

I make a request translates parakaleō (also verse 10), here with the meaning of “to plead, appeal,” perhaps “to beg a favor.” An appeal is often expressed figuratively, for example, “I ask you with my heart exposed” or “I ask you from my abdomen.”

What follows in the verse comes as a concessive clause, even though I am, which implies that what Paul is gives him the right to do otherwise than make a request. The concessive clause I do this even though … may be restructured in some languages as “I could do it differently, for I am…”

Ambassador translates the Greek presbutēs, which is usually “an old man” (see Luke 1.18, Titus 2.2; “old women” in Titus 2.3). But this word sometimes appears as a variant spelling of presbeutēs, and on this basis Good News Translation Revised Standard Version New American Bible Barclay New English Bible Translator’s New Testament Barclay Goodspeed Twentieth Century New Testament and others take it here to mean ambassador, which seems much more appropriate in the context (so Lightfoot, Moule). (The noun presbeutēs does not appear in the NT, but the cognate verb presbeuō is used in 2 Cor 5.20, Eph 6.20.) Others (Vincent, Lohse) think “an old man” is meant, and that is how it is translated in Jerusalem Bible Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Traduction œcuménique de la Bible Bible en français courant Biblia Dios Habla Hoy New International Version Moffatt Phillips. It is impossible to decide precisely how old Paul would be; according to the sixth-century B.C. Greek physician Hippocrates, this word applied to an individual between 49 and 56.

Ambassador may be rendered as “one who represents” or “one who carries a message on behalf of” or “one who travels in order to speak for.”

A prisoner for his sake: see Philemon 1.9.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to Philemon. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Philemon 1:9

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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Commentaire sur la traduction de la lettre à Philémon 1.9

Dans le verset précédent Paul dit qu’il aurait pu ordonner à Philémon de faire ce que l’apôtre veut. Ici il explique sa démarche actuelle : au lieu d’imposer sa volonté, comme apôtre, vieillard ou prisonnier pour Christ, il fait sa demande par amour. Cela signifie que Paul donne à son interlocuteur, Philémon, l’occasion d’agir librement.

c’est de préférence rend un mot grec qui veut dire « plutôt » et celui-ci offre une alternative. La Parole de Vie fait ressortir l’idée avec « Pourtant, j’aime mieux » On pourra aussi dire « je préfère » (Bible en français courant, Bible de Jérusalem).

au nom de l’amour : les mots au nom de rend une préposition grecque qui introduit la cause ou la raison de la requête de Paul. Elle peut être traduite comme « sur la base de l’amour (chrétien) ».

Pour amour, voir verset 7. Ici l’idée d’amitié et d’une sincère appréciation prédomine. On pourra l’exprimer d’une manière plus inclusive : « à cause de notre amour mutuel ».

que je t’adresse une requête : il s’agit d’une demande faite de façon convenable mais avec insistance. Il a ici le sens de « plaider », « faire appel, » « supplier » ou « demander une faveur ». On pourra dire « je te prie de… » La Parole de Vie parle de « présenter cette demande ». L’appel peut être exprimé au sens figuré, par exemple, « je t’expose tout mon cœur » ou « je te demande à partir de mon ventre ». Voir aussi verset 10.

Oui, moi Paul, qui suis un vieillard : l’hommage et le respect dus aux personnes âgées amènent Paul à mentionner qu’il est un adulte avancé en âge, un vieillard. Il est impossible de dire avec précision quel âge Paul avait, mais ce terme laisse entendre qu’il avait au moins 50 ans. Les traducteurs devraient choisir un mot pour vieillard sans connotation négative. Dans certains manuscrits, il y a une variante orthographique qui donnerait un autre sens à ce mot : « ambassadeur ». Certains biblistes trouvent cette lecture plus appropriée dans ce contexte, bien que cette utilisation soit rare dans le Nouveau Testament. Les versions françaises ont plutôt un vieillard ou « un vieux », ce qui est recommandé ici.

moi … un vieillard, moi qui suis maintenant prisonnier de Jésus Christ : le grec n’atteste pas ces deux moi emphatiques, mais comme il cite son propre nom, Paul, cet insistance semble justifiée.

L’utilisation de l’adverbe maintenant montre que Paul est en prison lorsqu’il écrit cette lettre.

Pour prisonnier de Jésus Christ, voir verset 1.

Source: Aroga Bessong, Dieudonné. La lettre à Philémon – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2011.