Philemon · 25 verses
Philemon 1
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
Paul offers to settle Onesimus’s account, then slips a second account across the table: “charge it to my account,” he writes, before adding that Philemon owes him “your very self.” It is generosity with a footnote sharp enough to scratch the desk.
A household already rich in affectionvv. 1–7
Paul writes from imprisonment with Timothy beside him, addressing Philemon, Apphia, Archippus, and the church that meets at Philemon’s house. He has heard of Philemon’s faith and love, and praises the way that love has refreshed the saints’ hearts—a household introduced less by furniture than by its effects on other people.
The appeal, with accounts attachedvv. 8–22
Paul could command what is proper, but chooses an appeal based on love, made by an aged prisoner for Onesimus, whom he calls his child and his very heart. The former useless one has become useful; Paul sends him back, though he would have kept him to minister in the chains. The request then grows bolder: receive Onesimus as Paul would be received, and put any debt on Paul’s account. A moment later comes the little financial thunderclap: Philemon owes Paul his very self. Paul finishes by confidently expecting obedience, and even more than he has asked, while reserving a guest room for his hoped-for return.
A crowded postscriptvv. 23–25
Epaphras sends greetings as Paul’s fellow prisoner; Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke do the same as fellow workers. The letter ends with grace addressed not to the furniture, nor even merely to the house, but to Philemon’s spirit.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
Phlm 1:1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker,
Phlm 1:2to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church that meets at your house:
Phlm 1:3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Phlm 1:4I always thank my God, remembering you in my prayers,
Phlm 1:5because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
Phlm 1:6I pray that your partnership in the faith may become effective as you fully acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ.
Phlm 1:7I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
Phlm 1:8So although in Christ I am bold enough to order you to do what is proper,
Phlm 1:9I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.
Phlm 1:10I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while I was in chains.
Phlm 1:11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
Phlm 1:12I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.
Phlm 1:13I would have liked to keep him with me, so that on your behalf he could minister to me in my chains for the gospel.
Phlm 1:14But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.
Phlm 1:15For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for good—
Phlm 1:16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.
Phlm 1:17So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.
Phlm 1:18But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.
Phlm 1:19I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.
Phlm 1:20Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
Phlm 1:21Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
Phlm 1:22In the meantime, prepare a guest room for me, because I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
Phlm 1:23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings,
Phlm 1:24as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
Phlm 1:25The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
01 — Also here
Who else the chapter reaches
Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.
Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.
Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 217 passages were voted onto 25 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 62 Peter 1:8For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 6Philippians 1:9–11And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
- 72 Corinthians 7:13On account of this, we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were even more delighted by the joy of Titus. For his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.
- 5Colossians 1:4because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints—
- 10Colossians 4:9With him I am sending Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.
- 6Colossians 1:9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
- 81 Thessalonians 2:6Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.
- 101 Corinthians 4:15Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
- 112 Timothy 4:11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is useful to me in the ministry.
- 142 Corinthians 9:7Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
- 172 Corinthians 8:23As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you. As for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.
- 18Isaiah 53:4–7Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
- 2Philippians 2:25But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs.
- 4Romans 1:8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed all over the world.
- 5Ephesians 1:15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
- 10Galatians 4:19My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,
Onward