But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 9:7Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.
- 1 Chr 29:17I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. Now I have seen with joy your people, who are present here, offer willingly to you.
- 1 Pet 5:2–3Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for dishonest gain, but willingly;
- 1 Cor 9:17For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward. But if not of my own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.
- 2 Cor 8:12For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have.
- 2 Cor 9:5I thought it necessary therefore to entreat the brothers that they would go before to you, and arrange ahead of time the generous gift that you promised before, that the same might be ready as a matter of generosity, and not of greediness.
- Phlm 1:8–9Therefore though I have all boldness in Christ to command you that which is appropriate,
- Ps 110:3Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array. Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth.
- 2 Cor 1:24Not that we control your faith, but are fellow workers with you for your joy. For you stand firm in faith.
- 1 Cor 9:7What soldier ever serves at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, and doesn’t eat of its fruit? Or who feeds a flock, and doesn’t drink from the flock’s milk?
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 1:14 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
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.