Filemon 1:9

1:9 I would rather appeal ¹  to you on the basis of love – I, Paul, an old man ²  and even now a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus ³  –

Filemon 1:16

1:16 no longer as a slave, ⁴  but more than a slave, as a dear brother. He is especially so to me, and even more so to you now, both humanly speaking ⁵  and in the Lord.

Filemon 1:14

1:14 However, ⁶  without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your good deed would not be out of compulsion, but from your own willingness.

[1:9]  ¹ tn Or “encourage.”

[1:9]  ² tn Or perhaps “an ambassador” (so RSV, TEV), reading πρεσβευτής for πρεσβύτης (a conjecture proposed by Bentley, cf. BDAG 863 s.v. πρεσβύτης). NRSV reads “old man” and places “ambassador” in a note.

[1:9]  ³ tn Grk “a prisoner of Christ Jesus.”

[1:16]  ⁴ tn Although the Greek word δοῦλος (doulos) is sometimes translated “servant” here (so KJV), the word “slave” is a much more candid and realistic picture of the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus. In the Greco-Roman world of the 1st century the slave was considered a “living tool” of the master. The slave was “property” in every sense of the word. This understanding heightens the tense scenario that is in view here. It is likely that Onesimus may have even feared for his life upon returning to Colossae. Undoubtedly Paul has asked this runaway slave to return to what could amount to a potentially severe and life-endangering situation.

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “in the flesh.”

[1:14]  ⁶ tn Though the Greek text does not read the term “however,” it is clearly implied and thus supplied in the English translation to accent the contrastive nature of Paul’s statement.