But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account;
Parallel translations
- WEB But if he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, put that to my account.
- KJV If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;
- BSB But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.
- NKJV But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account.
- NLT If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me.
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
If Onesimus has wronged Philemon or owes him anything, Paul tells him to charge it to Paul's account. He offers to bear the cost personally.
Overview
Onesimus may have stolen from Philemon or at least cost him by fleeing. Paul voluntarily assumes the debt, asking that it be reckoned to him instead. This is one of Scripture's clearest pictures of substitution: an innocent party taking on another's debt so the guilty can be received freely, just as Christ bore our sins so that we might be reconciled to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Isa 53:4–7Surely he has borne our sickness, and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted.
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 1:18 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.