I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self besides).
Parallel translations
- KJV I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.
- BSB I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.
- NKJV I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides.
- NASB I, Paul, have written this with my own hand, I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well).
- NLT I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it. And I won’t mention that you owe me your very soul!
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 personally guarantees the debt in his own handwriting, while reminding Philemon that he owes Paul his very self. Paul's love is matched by a gentle leverage.
Overview
By writing this pledge with his own hand, Paul makes a binding promise to repay whatever Onesimus owes. At the same time he reminds Philemon, likely his convert, that he owes Paul an even greater spiritual debt, his own salvation. Paul thus secures Onesimus's welcome both by taking on the debt and by appealing to the immeasurable debt of grace Philemon himself has received.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gal 6:11See with what large letters I write to you with my own hand.
- 1 Cor 16:21–22This greeting is by me, Paul, with my own hand.
- Gal 5:2Behold, I, Paul, tell you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.
- Jas 5:19–20Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,
- 1 Cor 4:15For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News.
- 1 Cor 9:1–2Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus Christ, our Lord? Aren’t you my work in the Lord?
- 1 Tim 1:2to Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
- 2 Cor 3:2You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;
- Titus 1:4to Titus, my true child according to a common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 1:19 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.