who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me.
Parallel translations
- KJV Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:
- BSB Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
- NKJV who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.
- NASB who previously was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.
- NLT Onesimus hasn’t been of much use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Tim 4:11Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.
- Job 30:1–2“But now those who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.
- Luke 15:32But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’”
- 1 Pet 2:10who in time past were no people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
- Luke 17:10Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”
- Matt 25:30Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
- Rom 3:12They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not so much as one.”
- Luke 15:24for this, my son, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ They began to celebrate.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
The plea to receive a runaway slave as a beloved brother, charging his debt to Paul's account, is a living picture of how Christ receives us and pays what we owe.
How Philemon 1:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.