Philemon 1:10

1:10 I am appealing ¹  to you concerning my child, whose spiritual father I have become ²  during my imprisonment, ³  that is, Onesimus,

Philemon 1:12

1:12 I have sent ⁴  him (who is my very heart) ⁵  back to you.

Matthew 10:40

Rewards

10:40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. ⁶ 

Matthew 12:48-50

12:48 To the one who had said this, Jesus ⁷  replied, ⁸  “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 12:49 And pointing ⁹  toward his disciples he said, “Here ¹⁰  are my mother and my brothers! 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is ¹¹  my brother and sister and mother.”

Matthew 18:5

18:5 And whoever welcomes ¹²  a child like this in my name welcomes me.

Matthew 25:40

25:40 And the king will answer them, ¹³  ‘I tell you the truth, ¹⁴  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ¹⁵  of mine, you did it for me.’

¹ tn Or “I am encouraging…”

² tn Grk “my child whom I have begotten.” The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied before “father” in the translation to clarify for the modern reader that Paul did not literally father a child during his imprisonment. Paul’s point is that he was instrumental in Onesimus’ conversion while in prison.

³ sn During my imprisonment. Apparently Onesimus became a believer under Paul’s shepherding while he [Paul] was a prisoner in Rome.

⁴ tc There are several variants at this point in the text, most of them involving the addition of προσλαβοῦ (proslabou, “receive, accept”) at various locations in the verse. But all such variants seem to be motivated by the harsh syntax of the verse without this verb. Without the verb, the meaning is that Onesimus is Paul’s “very heart,” though this is an awkward expression especially because of τουτ᾿ ἔστιν (tout’ estin, “this is, who is”) in the middle cluttering the construction. Nowhere else in the NT is σπλάγχνα (splancna, here translated “heart”) used in apposition to people. It is thus natural that scribes would want to fill out the text here, and they did so apparently with a verb that was ready at hand (borrowed from v. 17). With the verb the sentence is converted into an object-complement construction: “I have sent him back to you; accept him, that is, as my very heart.” But both the fact that some important witnesses (א* A F G 33 pc) lack the verb, and that its location floats in the various constructions that have it, suggest that the original text did not have προσλαβοῦ.

⁵ tn That is, “who means a great deal to me”; Grk “whom I have sent to you, him, this one is my heart.”

⁶ sn The one who sent me refers to God.

⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Grk “And answering, he said to the one who had said this.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) at the beginning of the clause has not been translated.

⁹ tn Grk “extending his hand.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “Behold my mother and my brothers.”

¹¹ tn The pleonastic pronoun αὐτός (autos, “he”) which precedes this verb has not been translated.

¹² tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).

¹³ tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

¹⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

¹⁵ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.