Strategies for Reading a Pauline Letter

Paul's Letter to Philemon
(translation by Hans K. Arneson)

Sender

¹ Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus,
and Timothy our brother,

Recipient

To Philemon our beloved and fellow worker,
² to Apphia, our sister,
to Archippus, our fellow soldier,
and to the church in your house:

Greeting

³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

⁴ I always give thanks to my God when I remember you in my prayers, ⁵ hearing of your love which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, ⁶ that your loyal partnership has been at work in the recognition of every good thing we can do for Christ. ⁷ Indeed, I have had great joy and encouragement from your love, because the guts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

Letter Body
 
 
 
 

⁸ As such, though I am so frank in Christ as to issue you a command regarding what is compulsory for the sake of love, ⁹ I instead make an appeal - being, as I am, Paul the old man, and now Paul the prisoner of Christ Jesus. ¹⁰ I make an appeal to you concerning my child Onesimus [the name means somthing like "useful" or "beneficial"], whose father I have become during my imprisonment - ¹¹the one who was once useless to you, but who is now useful both to you and to me.

¹² I am sending him back to you, that is, I am sending my guts. ¹³ I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might minister to me on your behalf in the chains of the gospel; ¹⁴ however, I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might come about willingly and not by way of compulsion. ¹⁵ Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you temporarily; that you might receive him eternally, ¹⁶no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a brother particularly beloved to me - and how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord!

¹⁷ So then, if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. ¹⁸ If he has wronged you somehow or stands in your debt, charge that to my account. ¹⁹ I, Paul, write this with my own hand; I will repay it. (I will not mention that you owe me your very self.) ²⁰ Yes brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my guts in Christ!

Concluding instructions

²¹ I am writing to you, confident in your subjection, knowing that you will do even more than what I say here, ²² though all the same you should prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given back to you.

Greetings

²³ Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, ²⁴ and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

Blessing

²⁵ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.