10 I appeal to you for (A)my child, (B)Onesimus,[a] (C)whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me (D)on your behalf (E)during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be (F)by compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why (G)he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 (H)no longer as a bondservant[b] but more than a bondservant, as (I)a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, (J)both in the flesh and in the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Philemon 1:10 Onesimus means useful (see verse 11) or beneficial (see verse 20)
  2. Philemon 1:16 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; twice in this verse

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