Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
Parallel translations
- WEB yet for love’s sake I rather beg, being such a one as Paul, the aged, but also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
- BSB I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.
- NKJV yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ—
- NASB yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—
- NLT But because of our love, I prefer simply to ask you. Consider this as a request from me—Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus.
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
Instead of commanding, Paul appeals on the basis of love, as an old man and now a prisoner for Christ. He chooses gentle entreaty over authority.
Overview
Paul leverages not his office but his love, his age, and his chains, all of which lend moral weight to his plea. "For love's sake" he would rather beg than order, embodying the very Christlike humility he hopes Philemon will show. This gracious self-lowering reflects the gospel pattern, where Christ Himself stooped to win us rather than compel us.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 2 Cor 5:20Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
- Eph 4:1I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
- Rom 12:1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
- Eph 3:1For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
- Phlm 1:1–25Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,
- Ps 71:9Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.
- Heb 13:19But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
- Ps 71:18Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.
- Isa 46:4And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
- 2 Cor 6:1We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
- Prov 16:31The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
- 1 Pet 2:11Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
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 1:9 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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