Philemon 1:4

Thanks for Philemon’s Love and Faith

1:4 I always thank my God ¹  as I remember you in my prayers, ² 

Philemon 1:22

1:22 At the same time also, prepare a place for me to stay, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given back to you.

Philemon 1:7

1:7 I ³  have had great joy and encouragement because ⁴  of your love, for the hearts ⁵  of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

¹ sn I always thank my God. An offer of thanksgiving (εὐχαριστῶ, eucaristw) to God is a customary formula for Paul in many of his epistles (cf. Rom 1:8, 1 Cor 1:4, Eph 1:16, Col 1:3, 1 Thess 1:2, 2 Thess 1:3). The content of the thanksgiving typically points to the work of God in the salvation of the believers to whom he [Paul] writes.

² tn Grk “making remembrance (or “mention”) of you in my prayers.”

³ tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

⁴ tn The Greek preposition ἐπί (epi) is understood here in a causal sense, i.e., “because.”

⁵ tn The word translated “hearts” here is σπλάγχνα (splancna). Literally the term refers to one’s “inward parts,” but it is commonly used figuratively for “heart” as the seat of the emotions. See BDAG 938 s.v. σπλάγχνον 2 (cf. Col 3:12, Phil 2:1).