But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.
Parallel translations
- WEB But I was willing to do nothing without your consent, that your goodness would not be as of necessity, but of free will.
- KJV But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.
- NKJV But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.
- NASB but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness would not be, in effect, by compulsion, but of your own free will.
- NLT But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent. I wanted you to help because you were willing, not because you were forced.
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 refuses to keep Onesimus without Philemon's agreement, so that any kindness would be freely given rather than forced. He honors Philemon's free will.
Overview
Paul could have simply kept Onesimus and informed Philemon afterward, but he insists on Philemon's consent. He wants Philemon's goodness to spring from willing love, not compulsion. This principle, that genuine Christian generosity must be voluntary, runs throughout Scripture and reflects how God Himself seeks a willing, not a coerced, obedience from His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 2 Cor 9:7Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
- 1 Chr 29:17I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.
- 1 Pet 5:2–3Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
- 1 Cor 9:17If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility.
- 2 Cor 8:12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
- 2 Cor 9:5So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you beforehand and make arrangements for the bountiful gift you had promised. This way, your gift will be prepared generously and not begrudgingly.
- Phlm 1:8–9So although in Christ I am bold enough to order you to do what is proper,
- Ps 110:3Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
- 2 Cor 1:24Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers with you for your joy, because it is by faith that you stand firm.
- 1 Cor 9:7Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk?
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 1:14 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
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