I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.
Parallel translations
- WEB I am sending him back. Therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,
- KJV Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:
- NKJV I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,
- NASB I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart,
- NLT I am sending him back to you, and with him comes my own heart.
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 is sending Onesimus back to Philemon and asks that he be received warmly. He calls Onesimus "my own heart," showing how dear he has become.
Overview
Rather than keeping the useful Onesimus or shielding him from consequences, Paul does the right thing and returns him to his master, trusting the gospel to govern the outcome. By calling him "my own heart," Paul ties Philemon's treatment of Onesimus to his treatment of Paul himself. This costly honesty reflects how grace works within proper relationships rather than around them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Matt 6:14–15For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
- Luke 15:20So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
- Eph 4:32Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
- Jer 31:20Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD.
- Mark 11:25And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”
- Matt 18:21–35Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
- Deut 13:6If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (which neither you nor your fathers have known,
- 2 Sam 16:11Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son, my own flesh and blood, seeks my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone and let him curse me, for the LORD has told him so.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 1:12 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.