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OET (OET-RV) So I’m going to encourage you concerning Onesimus who became my spiritual ‘son’ since I’ve been imprisoned.
This is the main part of the letter. Paul stated clearly in verse 17 what he was asking Philemon to do. He said, “Welcome Onesimus back just as you would welcome me.” But before Paul asked Philemon to do this, he told Philemon several reasons why he should welcome Onesimus back. In verses 8–11, he told Philemon that he wanted him to do something to help Onesimus because Onesimus had become a Christian and would be useful to Philemon. Paul told Philemon that another reason why he should help Onesimus was because Philemon loved Paul and his other Christian brothers. In verses 12–14, Paul said that he was sending Onesimus back to Philemon, even though he wanted to keep Onesimus with him. In verses 15–16, Paul told Philemon why God may have allowed these things to happen, and that he (Paul) loved Onesimus very much. Then in verses 17–21, Paul finally said clearly that he wanted Philemon to welcome Onesimus. Paul offered to pay for anything Onesimus owed to Philemon. He also reminded Philemon that in the past he had helped Philemon become a Christian. This was another reason why Paul expected that Philemon would do what he asked.
In this Section (verses 8–21) Paul, as a Christian brother, asked Philemon to help Onesimus, but did not command him to do it.
Read verses 8–21 carefully in the BSB and the GNT.
Read verses 8–11 again, then read the following notes before you translate.
I appeal to you for my child Onesimus,
I am asking you to do a kind thing for Onesimus, who is like a son to me.
I beg you to help Onesimus, who is like a son to me.
I appeal to you: Paul was asking Philemon to do something. See verse 9a notes. But Paul did not yet tell Philemon what he wanted him to do.
for: Paul was asking Philemon to do something “in regard to” Onesimus, or “on behalf of” Onesimus.
my child: Onesimus was not Paul’s physical child. But he was like a son to Paul because, while Paul was in prison, he had helped Onesimus to believe in Christ. Just as a father helps give physical life to his son, Paul had helped give spiritual life to Onesimus.
Onesimus: The name Onesimus is a Greek word which means “useful, profitable, helpful” (see note on “useless” in verse 11). Many masters named their slaves Onesimus.
whose father I became while I was in chains.
He has become like my son while I have been in prison because I helped him receive new life from God.
While I have been in prison I have become like his father.
chains: The Greek word desmois here means “bonds” or “chains.” At the time Paul wrote this letter, the Romans often locked important prisoners in chains while they were in prison. Paul used chains as figurative language for being in prison.
Paul was in prison because he had been preaching the Gospel. But this does not mean that Onesimus was also in prison. He was probably only visiting Paul. If Onesimus, too, had been a prisoner, Paul could not have sent him back to Philemon (verse 12).
Note 1 topic: translate-names
Ὀνήσιμον
Onesimus
Onesimus is the name of a man.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
Ὀνήσιμον
Onesimus
The name Onesimus means “profitable” or “useful.” If it would be helpful to your readers, you could include this information in the text or in a footnote.
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ὃν ἐγέννησα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: παρακαλῶ σέ περί τοῦ ἐμοῦ τέκνου ὅν ἐγέννησα ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς Ὀνήσιμον)
Here, fathered is a metaphor that means that Onesimus became a believer as Paul taught him about Christ. Alternate translation: [who received new life and became my spiritual son when I taught him about Christ] or [who became a spiritual son to me]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς
in my bonds
Prisoners were often bound in chains. Paul was in prison when he taught Onesimus and was still in prison when he wrote this letter. Alternate translation: [here in prison]
OET (OET-RV) So I’m going to encourage you concerning Onesimus who became my spiritual ‘son’ since I’ve been imprisoned.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.