Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
Parallel translations
- WEB who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me.
- KJV Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee 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.
Quick answer
Paul makes a play on Onesimus's name, which means "useful": once useless to Philemon, he is now genuinely useful to both. Conversion has changed him.
Overview
The name Onesimus means "useful" or "profitable," and Paul gently turns it into a description of the man's new character. Formerly an unprofitable runaway, Onesimus has become truly serviceable now that Christ has changed his heart. The wordplay illustrates how the gospel does not merely forgive sin but transforms a person into someone fruitful for God and others.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Tim 4:11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is useful to me in the ministry.
- Job 30:1–2“But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to entrust with my sheep dogs.
- 1 Pet 2:10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
- Luke 15:32But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
- Luke 17:10So you also, when you have done everything commanded of you, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
- Rom 3:12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
- Matt 25:30And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
- Luke 15:24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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.