Saints Translation

By Vincent Melli

Philemon — Greek text and reception

ChaplainRestored brotherhood

Philemon 1 — Greek text and reception

Saints Translation: Philemon [V2 Working Draft]

Each card preserves the Greek reading and its textual and reception notes. This source provides a Greek study edition; Hebrew counterparts and Hebrew–Greek classifications are not supplied.

Chapter 1

An appeal for Onesimus

Greeting

Verse 1:1

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy the brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker,

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: Paul identifies himself as a prisoner; the letter does not give the place of imprisonment. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 1, on 1:1 [CHR1]: Paul’s imprisonment lends weight to his gentle appeal.

Verse 1:2

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

and to Apphia the sister, and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the Church in your house:

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: The house belongs to a singular addressee; the greeting includes the gathered Church. Apphia is called sister, with no marital relationship stated. The accessed English homily calls Apphia beloved; G reads ἀδελφῇ, sister. Its conjecture about her marriage does not supply that relationship to the Greek. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 1, on 1:2 [CHR1]: Apphia’s marriage is conjectured; the house Church includes slaves.

Verse 1:3

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: You is plural, addressing those named and the Church together. God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are both named as the source of the greeting. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 1, on 1:3 [CHR1]: Grace received calls Philemon to forgive. Bunyan, Saved by Grace, Question II, [Fourth], §§1–2 [BUN], explicitly cites this greeting for grace attributed to the Father and the Son.

Thanksgiving and shared faith

Verse 1:4

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

I thank my God always, remembering you in my prayers,

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: The singular you addresses Philemon. This thanksgiving continues through 1:6; always can be heard with the thanksgiving and its accompanying remembrance. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:4–6, opening discussion [CHR2]: Thanksgiving prepares the request and expresses continuing affection.

Verse 1:5

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

hearing of your love and the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints,

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: The Greek places love and faith together before two directed phrases. The English preserves that structure rather than restricting faith to Jesus and love to the saints within the translated wording. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:5, discussion following the opening quotation [CHR2]: Reported love reveals Philemon’s generosity beyond his immediate circle.

Verse 1:6

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through recognition of every good thing among us for Christ.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: Koinōnia denotes sharing or participation; fellowship need not mean only speaking about faith. Among us follows en hēmin. For Christ renders eis Christon; its precise relation to the preceding phrases remains open. The syntax was reconsidered in this review: neither the object of the recognition nor the force of εἰς Χριστόν warrants a more restrictive paraphrase. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:6 [CHR2]: Shared faith should produce good works and practical sharing.

Verse 1:7

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

For I had great joy and encouragement because of your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: The source has I had, singular. Hearts renders the bodily idiom splanchna, literally inward parts; the same term recurs in 1:12 and 1:20. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:7 [CHR2]: Others’ refreshment gives Paul confidence to seek help.

The appeal for Onesimus

Verse 1:8

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

Therefore, although I have great boldness in Christ to command you to do what is fitting,

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: Paul acknowledges the possibility of commanding; the sentence is completed by the preference for appeal in 1:9. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:8 [CHR2]: Paul grounds his authority in Christ and softens its exercise.

Verse 1:9

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

I appeal instead because of love, being as I am, Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: Presbytēs is retained as old man. The translation does not substitute an ambassador reading or infer a numerical age. This age term is distinct from an appointed elder’s title; no office is asserted here. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:9 [CHR2]: Age, affection and imprisonment support persuasion.

Verse 1:10

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while in chains,

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: The source uses a begetting image for Paul’s relationship to Onesimus during imprisonment. This is spiritual parenthood in the context, not an assertion of biological descent. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:10, between the discussions of 1:9 and 1:11 [CHR2]: Spiritual fatherhood makes Onesimus especially dear.

Verse 1:11

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

who was once useless to you but is now useful to you and to me.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: Achrēstos/euchrēstos preserve the contrast useless/useful. These terms prepare the appeal to benefit in 1:20; no account of a particular offense is supplied here. The usefulness language also plays on the name Onesimus, conventionally associated with benefit. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:11 [CHR2]: Acknowledging past failure helps the promise of present usefulness.

Text [G]: NA28 reads νυνὶ δὲ [καὶ] σοὶ in brackets (SBLGNT omits the first καί); the rendering above follows SBLGNT, and NA28 would read "both to you and to me".[G][CHR2]

Verse 1:12

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

I am sending him back to you—him, that is, my own heart.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: The sending is an epistolary aorist, presented from the recipient’s reading situation. My own heart again renders splanchna, Paul’s emphatic affection for Onesimus. The accessed English homily includes an imperative to receive him; that additional imperative is absent from G at this verse and is not inserted. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:12 [CHR2]: Paul’s affection calls for welcome with honor.

Verse 1:13

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

I wanted to keep him with me, so that in your place he might serve me in my chains for the gospel.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: The service would be on Philemon’s behalf. The source distinguishes Paul’s wish to retain Onesimus from the decision described in 1:14. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:13 [CHR2]: Onesimus could render Philemon’s service to Paul.

Verse 1:14

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

But without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your good deed might be voluntary, rather than as though compelled.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: As though preserves hōs, qualifying the possibility of compulsion. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:14 [CHR2]: Consent protects the voluntary character of the benefit.

Verse 1:15

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

For perhaps he was separated from you for a little while for this reason: that you might have him back forever,

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: Perhaps and the passive was separated are retained. The source does not explicitly say that Onesimus ran away or assign an agent to the separation. The passive does not itself identify God as grammatical agent; a providential explanation belongs to interpretation. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:15–16 [CHR2]: The separation is read providentially, alongside Joseph’s story.

Verse 1:16

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: Doulos is slave; hōs, as, is significant. In the flesh and in the Lord are both retained. The verse calls for a transformed reception without explicitly spelling out a legal manumission procedure. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 2, on 1:15–16 [CHR2]: Brotherhood brings equal honor while slavery remains in his interpretation.

Welcome, responsibility, and hope

Verse 1:17

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: Koinōnos, partner, echoes koinōnia in 1:6. The explicit comparison as me makes the requested welcome personal. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 3, on 1:17–19, opening discussion of 1:17 [CHR3]: Friendship with Paul entails receiving Onesimus as Paul.

Verse 1:18

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

And if he has wronged you in anything or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: The wrong and debt are conditional. The source does not state their amount or identify theft as an established event. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 3, on 1:17–19, discussion of 1:18 [CHR3]: Paul offers repayment; Chrysostom infers theft beyond the conditional wording.

Verse 1:19

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me even your own self.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: The repeated emphatic I and the personal guarantee are retained. Not to mention expresses the rhetorical force of hina mē legō; no monetary value is supplied for the personal debt. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 3, on 1:17–19, discussion of 1:19 [CHR3]: The handwritten guarantee combines earnest commitment with affectionate persuasion.

Verse 1:20

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: Onaimēn means may I benefit; the English keeps the appeal connected to useful in 1:11. The two source titles are distinct: in the Lord, then in Christ. Heart repeats the splanchna idiom. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 3, on 1:20 [CHR3]: The requested favor is understood as rendered to the Lord.

Verse 1:21

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: More than I say is left unspecified. The translation does not expand it into a particular order to free, return, or retain Onesimus. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 3, on 1:21 [CHR3]: Expressed confidence encourages Philemon to exceed the request.

Verse 1:22

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

At the same time, prepare lodging for me also, for I hope that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: Prepare is singular; your prayers and to you are plural. Charisthēsomai expresses being granted as a favor; the agent is not explicitly named in the clause. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 3, on 1:22 [CHR3]: Paul’s hoped-for visit strengthens the appeal; prayer expresses mutual affection.

Final greetings

Verse 1:23

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you,

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: Fellow prisoner is explicit. The greetings continue into 1:24. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 3, on 1:23 [CHR3]: Epaphras’s shared suffering supports the request.

Verse 1:24

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: The four names share the greeting verb supplied from 1:23; my fellow workers describes this group. Demas is a fellow worker here; the different description in 2 Timothy 4:10 is not imported into this greeting. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 3, on 1:24 [CHR3]: Demas’s later failure is conjectured; Luke’s faithfulness receives attention.

Verse 1:25

Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Textual & Reception Notes

Text [G]: Your is plural while spirit is singular. The supplied be makes the verbless blessing idiomatic. Source G has no final Amen here. The accessed English homily adds our before Lord and a final Amen; neither is present in G. Human spirit remains lowercase. Reception: Chrysostom, Homily 3, on 1:25 and opening moral application [CHR3]: The closing prayer calls for conduct worthy of mercy. Bunyan, Saved by Grace, Question II, [Fourth], §2 [BUN], explicitly cites this blessing for grace attributed to the Son.