Philemon 1:9

1:9 I would rather appeal ¹  to you on the basis of love – I, Paul, an old man ²  and even now a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus ³  –

Philemon 1:20

1:20 Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. ⁴ 

[1:9]  ¹ tn Or “encourage.”

[1:9]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “a prisoner of Christ Jesus.”

[1:20]  ⁴ sn Refresh my heart in Christ. Paul desired that Philemon refresh his heart in the same way that he [Philemon] had refreshed the hearts of other believers (cf. Phlm 7), that is, by forgiving and accepting Onesimus. In this way the presence and character of Jesus Christ would be vividly seen in Philemon’s attitude toward his runaway slave.