I am sending him back. Therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,
Parallel translations
- KJV Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:
- BSB I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.
- 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 6:14–15“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
- Luke 15:20“He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
- Eph 4:32And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
- Jer 31:20Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him,” says Yahweh.
- Mark 11:25Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions.
- Matt 18:21–35Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”
- Deut 13:6If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend, who is as your own soul, entices you secretly, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods,” which you have not known, you, nor your fathers;
- 2 Sam 16:11David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, “Behold, my son, who came out of my bowels, seeks my life. How much more this Benjamite, now? Leave him alone, and let him curse; for Yahweh has invited him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 1:12 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.