Greeting
1 Paul, a aprisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and bArchippus our cfellow soldier, and dthe church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon’s Love and Faith
4 eI thank my God always when I fremember you in my prayers, 5 because gI hear of your love and of 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 hknowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.1 7 For iI have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
Paul’s Plea for Onesimus
8 Accordingly, though I am jbold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9 yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 kI appeal to you for my child, lOnesimus,2 whose mfather 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, nin order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might onot be by compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 pno longer as a bondservant3 but more than a bondservant, as a beloved qbrother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me your rpartner, 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 sI, 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. Refresh my heart in Christ.
21 tConfident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do ueven more than I say. 22 At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for vI am hoping that wthrough your prayers I will be graciously given to you.
Final Greetings
23 xEpaphras, my yfellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, zDemas, and aLuke, my fellow workers.
25 The 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 strength uthe king rejoices,
and in your salvation how greatly he exults!
2 You have vgiven him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you wmeet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
4 xHe asked life of you; you gave it to him,
length of days forever and ever.
5 His yglory is great through your salvation;
zsplendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 For you make him most ablessed forever;1
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them bas a blazing oven
when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,
and cfire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
and their offspring from among the children of man.
11 Though they plan evil against you,
though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.
