Philemon 1:2-3

1:2 to Apphia ¹  our sister, ²  to Archippus our ³  fellow soldier, and to the church that meets in your house. 1:3 Grace and peace to you ⁴  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Philemon 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁵  a prisoner of Christ Jesus, ⁶  and Timothy our ⁷  brother, to Philemon, our dear friend ⁸  and colaborer,

Philemon 1:16

1:16 no longer as a slave, ⁹  but more than a slave, as a dear brother. He is especially so to me, and even more so to you now, both humanly speaking ¹⁰  and in the Lord.

Philemon 1:5

1:5 because I hear ¹¹  of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love ¹²  for all the saints. ¹³ 

Philemon 1:11

1:11 who was formerly useless to you, but is now useful to you ¹⁴  and me.

Philemon 1:9

1:9 I would rather appeal ¹⁵  to you on the basis of love – I, Paul, an old man ¹⁶  and even now a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus ¹⁷  –

Philemon 1:21-22

1:21 Since I was confident that you would obey, I wrote to you, because I knew that you would do even more than ¹⁸  what I am asking you to do. 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 ¹⁹  have had great joy and encouragement because ²⁰  of your love, for the hearts ²¹  of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

Philemon 1:19

1:19 I, Paul, have written ²²  this letter ²³  with my own hand: ²⁴  I will repay it. I could also mention that you owe ²⁵  me your very self.

[1:2]  ¹ sn Apphia is thought to be the wife of Philemon.

[1:2]  ² tc Most witnesses (D² Ψ Ï) here read τῇ ἀγαπητῇ (th agaphth, “beloved, dear”), a reading that appears to have been motivated by the masculine form of the same adjective in v. 1. Further, the earliest and best witnesses, along with a few others (א A D* F G I P 048 0278 33 81 104 1739 1881 pc), have ἀδελφῇ (adelfh, “sister”). Thus on internal and external grounds, ἀδελφῇ is the strongly preferred reading.

[1:2]  ³ tn Though the term “our” does not appear in the Greek text it is inserted to bring out the sense of the passage.

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁸ sn The phrase a prisoner of Christ Jesus implies that Paul was being held prisoner because of his testimony for Christ Jesus. Paul’s imprisonment was due to his service to Christ, in the same manner as John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos because of his testimony (Rev 1:9).

[1:1]  ⁹ tn “our” is not present in the Greek text, but was supplied to bring out the sense in English.

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “dear.” The adjective is functioning as a substantive; i.e., “dear one” or “dear friend.”

[1:16]  ¹⁰ tn Although the Greek word δοῦλος (doulos) is sometimes translated “servant” here (so KJV), the word “slave” is a much more candid and realistic picture of the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus. In the Greco-Roman world of the 1st century the slave was considered a “living tool” of the master. The slave was “property” in every sense of the word. This understanding heightens the tense scenario that is in view here. It is likely that Onesimus may have even feared for his life upon returning to Colossae. Undoubtedly Paul has asked this runaway slave to return to what could amount to a potentially severe and life-endangering situation.

[1:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in the flesh.”

[1:5]  ¹³ tn The Greek present participle ἀκούων (akouwn, “hearing”) is an adverbial participle of cause relating to εὐχαριστῶ (eucaristw, “I give thanks”).

[1:5]  ¹⁴ sn Your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. In accord with Paul, John also advocates this combination of “faith in Christ and love for the saints.” The believers’ invisible faith becomes visible in the demonstration of love for others. This, of course, is not only desired, but commanded (1 John 3:23). Although Paul’s comment here may appear as a stock expression to the casual reader, praising Philemon for his track record of faithfulness to Christ demonstrated in love for the saints is actually integral to the author’s argument in this short but pithy letter. Paul will soon ask Philemon to demonstrate this love toward Onesimus, his runaway slave.

[1:5]  ¹⁵ tn The Greek is somewhat awkward here. It appears as though the text reads “…the love and faith which you have for the Lord Jesus and for all the saints.” In other Pauline letters the emphasis seems to be “faith in Christ Jesus and love for all of the saints.” Some ancient mss have altered the wording to produce a smoother reading; scribes changed the wording to resemble the more readable versions in Eph 1:15 and Col 1:4, “your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have to all the saints.”

[1:11]  ¹⁶ tc ‡ A correlative καί (kai, “both you”) is found in a few witnesses (א*^,c F G 33 104 pc), perhaps either to underscore the value of Onesimus or in imitation of the νυνὶ δὲ καί (nuni de kai) in v. 9. The lack of καί is read by most witnesses, including א² A C D 0278 1739 1881 Ï it. Although a decision is difficult, the shorter reading has a slight edge in both internal and external evidence. NA²⁷ places the καί in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[1:9]  ¹⁹ tn Or “encourage.”

[1:9]  ²⁰ tn Or perhaps “an ambassador” (so RSV, TEV), reading πρεσβευτής for πρεσβύτης (a conjecture proposed by Bentley, cf. BDAG 863 s.v. πρεσβύτης). NRSV reads “old man” and places “ambassador” in a note.

[1:9]  ²¹ tn Grk “a prisoner of Christ Jesus.”

[1:21]  ²² tn Grk “that you would even go beyond.”

[1:7]  ²⁵ tn Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

[1:7]  ²⁶ tn The Greek preposition ἐπί (epi) is understood here in a causal sense, i.e., “because.”

[1:7]  ²⁷ 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).

[1:19]  ²⁸ tn Grk “I wrote” Here ἔγραψα (egraya) is functioning as an epistolary aorist. Paul puts it in the past tense because from Philemon’s perspective when he reads the letter it will, of course, already have been written.

[1:19]  ²⁹ tn The phrase “this letter” does not appear in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to clarify the meaning.

[1:19]  ³⁰ sn With my own hand. Paul may have considered this letter so delicate that he wrote the letter himself as opposed to using an amanuensis or secretary.

[1:19]  ³¹ sn The statement you owe me your very self means that Paul was responsible for some sort of blessing in the life of Philemon; though a monetary idea may be in mind, it is perhaps better to understand Paul as referring to the spiritual truth (i.e., the gospel) he had taught Philemon.