Philemon 1

Paul, a prisoner of AL-MASIH1 ‘ISA2, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker, 2to the beloved Apphia, to Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the congregation in your house: 3Grace to you and peace from God3 our Father and the LORD ‘ISA AL-MASIH.

4I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, 5hearing of your love, and of the faith which you have toward the LORD ‘ISA, and toward all the saints; 6that the fellowship of your faith may become effective, in the knowledge of every good thing which is in us in AL-MASIH ‘ISA. 7For we have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

8Therefore, though I have all boldness in AL-MASIH to command you that which is appropriate, 9yet for love’s sake I rather beg, being such a one as Paul, the aged, but also a prisoner of ‘ISA AL-MASIH. 10I beg you for my child, whom I have become the father of in my chains, Onesimus4, 11who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me. 

12I am sending him back. Therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, 13whom I desired to keep with me, that on your behalf he might serve me in my chains for the Injil.5 14But I was willing to do nothing without your consent, that your goodness would not be as of necessity, but of free will. 15For perhaps he was therefore separated from you for a while, that you would have him forever, 16no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much rather to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord6.

17If then you count me a partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18But if he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, put that to my account. 19I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self besides). 20Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord. 21Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even beyond what I say.

22Also, prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.

23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in AL-MASIH ‘ISA, greets you, 24as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. 

25The grace of our LORD ‘ISA AL-MASIH be with your spirit. Amen.

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  1. 1:1 AL-MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH.  Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎
  2. 1:1 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH saves.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
  3. 1:3 God, English translation of theos. It is the Greek equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew) which are related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
  4. 1:10 Onesimus means “useful.“ ↩︎
  5. 1:13 Injil, this Arabic word is derived from Euangel (Greek) and means “good news” or “Gospel” (old English for ‘good news’). Depending on context, Injil can refer to, 
    1. the whole Christian New Testament containing 27 books, 
    2. the first 4 books of the New Testament, that is, the Injil according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, or,
    3. the message or “good news” of forgiveness of sins through ‘ISA AL-MASIH, revealed in the holy Injil (or New Testament). ↩︎
  6. 1:16 Lord, translated from the Greek kurios. Depending on context, it can refer to: 1. God, 2. ’ISA AL-MASIH, 3. men in authority, such as kings, landlords, etc., 4. a respectful salutation meaning, “sir.” The Apostle Paul consistently uses Lord to refer to ‘ISA AL-MASIH. ↩︎