Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord.
- KJV Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.
- NKJV Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.
- NASB Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.
- NLT Yes, my brother, please do me this favor for the Lord’s sake. Give me this encouragement in Christ.
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 asks Philemon, as a brother, to give him joy and refresh his heart in the Lord. Granting the request would be a gift to Paul himself.
Overview
Echoing verse 7, where Philemon refreshed the saints, Paul now asks to be refreshed in the same way. There may be a further play on the name Onesimus ("let me benefit from you"). The whole appeal is grounded "in the Lord," so that welcoming Onesimus is not merely a favor to Paul but an act of Christian love offered to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Phlm 1:7I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
- 3 Jn 1:4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
- Heb 13:17Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.
- Phlm 1:12I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.
- 2 Cor 2:2For if I grieve you, who is left to cheer me but those whom I have grieved?
- 2 Cor 7:4–7Great is my confidence in you; great is my pride in you; I am filled with encouragement; in all our troubles my joy overflows.
- Phil 4:1Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.
- 2 Cor 7:13On account of this, we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were even more delighted by the joy of Titus. For his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.
- Phil 2:1–2Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
- Phil 1:8God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
- 1 Th 2:19–20After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
- 1 Jn 3:17If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?
- 1 Th 3:7–9For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we have been reassured about you, because of your faith.
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 1:20 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.