Greeting
1 Paul, aa prisoner for Christ Jesus, and bTimothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and cArchippus our dfellow soldier, and ethe church in your house:
3 fGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon’s Love and Faith
4 gI thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hhear of your love and iof the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full jknowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.1 7 For I have derived much joy and kcomfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints lhave been refreshed through you.
Paul’s Plea for Onesimus
8 Accordingly, mthough I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do nwhat is required, 9 yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now oa prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 I appeal to you for pmy child, qOnesimus,2 rwhose 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 son your behalf tduring my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be uby compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why vhe was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 wno longer as a bondservant3 but more than a bondservant, as xa beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, yboth in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me zyour partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 aI, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. bRefresh my heart in Christ.
21 cConfident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for dI am hoping that ethrough your prayers fI will be graciously given to you.
Final Greetings
23 gEpaphras, my hfellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do iMark, iAristarchus, jDemas, and jLuke, my fellow workers.
25 kThe grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
The King Rejoices in the Lord’s Strength
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, in your zstrength the king rejoices,
and in your asalvation how greatly he exults!
2 You have bgiven him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you cmeet him with rich blessings;
you set da crown of efine gold upon his head.
4 He asked life of you; you fgave it to him,
glength of days forever and ever.
5 His hglory is great through your salvation;
isplendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 For you make him most blessed forever;1
you make him glad with the jjoy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be kmoved.
8 Your hand will lfind out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as ma blazing oven
when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his nwrath,
and ofire will consume them.
10 You pwill destroy their qdescendants from the earth,
and their offspring from among the children of man.
11 Though they plan evil against you,
though they rdevise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them sto flight;
you will taim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.
