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parallelVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA PSA AMOS HOS 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH PRO ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC GAL 1TH 2TH 1COR 2COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1TIM TIT 1PET 2PET 2TIM HEB YUD 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN REV
Phm 1 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) Before he was useless to you, but now he’s useful to both of us.
OET-LV which once to_you useless, but now to_you and to_me useful,
SR-GNT τόν ποτέ σοι ἄχρηστον, νυνὶ δὲ σοὶ καὶ ἐμοὶ εὔχρηστον, ‡
(ton pote soi aⱪraʸston, nuni de soi kai emoi euⱪraʸston,)
Key: orange:accusative/object, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT The one formerly useless to you, but now useful both to you and to me,
UST He was useless to you in the past, but now he is useful both to you and to me!
BSB Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
BLB once useless to you, but now useful both to you and to me,
AICNT who once was useless to you, but now is [also][fn] useful to you and to me,
1:11, also: NA28[] ‖ Absent from some manuscripts. SBLGNT THGNT BYZ TR
OEB Once he was of little service to you, but now he has become of great service, not only to you, but to me as well;
WEBBE who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me.
WMBB (Same as above)
NET who was formerly useless to you, but is now useful to you and me.
LSV who once was to you unprofitable, and now is profitable to me and to you,
FBV In the past he was of no use to you, but now he's useful to both you and me!
TCNT Once he was useless to yoʋ, but now he is useful both to yoʋ and to me. I am sending him [fn]back,
1:11 back 93.1% ¦ back to yoʋ CT 0.7%
T4T Although his name, as you know, means ‘useful’, formerly he was useless to you. But now he is useful both to you and to me!
LEB No LEB PHM 1:11 verse available
BBE Who in the past was of no profit to you, but now is of profit to you and to me:
Moff No Moff PHM book available
Wymth Formerly he was useless to you, but now—true to his name—he is of great use to you and to me.
ASV who once was unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable to thee and to me:
DRA Who hath been heretofore unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable both to me and thee,
YLT who once was to thee unprofitable, and now is profitable to me and to thee,
Drby once unserviceable to thee, but now serviceable to thee and to me:
RV who was aforetime unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable to thee and to me:
Wbstr Who in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:
KJB-1769 Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:
(Which in time past was to thee/you unprofitable, but now profitable to thee/you and to me: )
KJB-1611 Which in time past was to thee vnprofitable: but now profitable to thee and to me:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
Bshps Which in tyme passed, was to thee vnprofitable, but nowe profitable to thee and to me.
(Which in time passed, was to thee/you unprofitable, but now profitable to thee/you and to me.)
Gnva Which in times past was to thee vnprofitable, but nowe profitable both to thee and to me,
(Which in times past was to thee/you unprofitable, but now profitable both to thee/you and to me, )
Cvdl which in tyme past was to the vnprofitable, but now profitable both to the and me.
(which in time past was to the unprofitable, but now profitable both to the and me.)
TNT which in tyme passed was to the vnproffetable: but now proffetable bothe to the and also to me
(which in time passed was to the unprofitable: but now profitable both to the and also to me )
Wycl which sumtyme was vnprofitable to thee, but now profitable bothe to thee and to me; whom Y sente ayen to thee.
(which sumtyme was unprofitable to thee/you, but now profitable both to thee/you and to me; whom I sent again to thee/you.)
Luth welcher weiland dir unnütze, nun aber dir und mir wohl nütze ist: den habe ich wiedergesandt.
(which weiland you/to_you unnütze, now but you/to_you and to_me probably nütze ist: the have I againgesandt.)
ClVg qui tibi aliquando inutilis fuit, nunc autem et mihi et tibi utilis,[fn]
(who to_you aliquando inutilis fuit, now however and to_me and to_you utilis, )
1.11 Qui tibi aliquando, etc. CHRYS. Vide quam prudenter ipsius, scilicet Onesimi, delictum confitetur, ut eo ipso exstinguat iracundiam Domini, non ait: Nunc tibi utilis erit, ne ille non crederet, sed personam quoque introduxit suam, ut ex hoc ille dignius sperare meliora potuisset. Si enim Paulo futurus est utilis, qui tantam virtutis et perfectionis diligentiam exigit, quanto amplius Domino.
1.11 Who to_you aliquando, etc. CHRYS. Vide how prudenter ipsius, scilicet Onesimi, delictum confitetur, as eo ipso exstinguat iracundiam Master, not/no he_said: Nunc to_you utilis erit, not ille not/no crederet, but personam too introduxit his_own, as from this ille dignius sperare meliora potuisset. When/But_if because Paulo futurus it_is utilis, who tantam of_virtue and perfectionis diligentiam exigit, quanto amplius Master.
UGNT τόν ποτέ σοι ἄχρηστον, νυνὶ δὲ καὶ σοὶ καὶ ἐμοὶ εὔχρηστον;
(ton pote soi aⱪraʸston, nuni de kai soi kai emoi euⱪraʸston;)
SBL-GNT τόν ποτέ σοι ἄχρηστον νυνὶ ⸀δὲ σοὶ καὶ ἐμοὶ εὔχρηστον,
(ton pote soi aⱪraʸston nuni ⸀de soi kai emoi euⱪraʸston,)
TC-GNT τόν ποτέ σοι ἄχρηστον, νυνὶ [fn]δὲ σοὶ καὶ ἐμοὶ εὔχρηστον, ὃν ἀνέπεμψα·
(ton pote soi aⱪraʸston, nuni de soi kai emoi euⱪraʸston, hon anepempsa; )
1:11 δε 91.4% ¦ δε και NA 7.5%
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
1:11 Onesimus means “useful.”
• hasn’t been of much use (literally useless) . . . very useful: This might be a play on words (cp. 1:20). Onesimus was now serving others and proclaiming the Good News. At last he had become what his name means.
Slavery
Slavery was an accepted way of life in the Roman world. Prisoners of war were often made slaves, many were born into slavery, and individuals could voluntarily become slaves for a period of time to work off a debt. A large percentage of the population, including many Christians, were either slaves or freed slaves (see Acts 6:9). Why, then, did Paul not denounce slavery?
There appear to be two reasons. First, slavery in the Roman world was very different from the kind of slavery familiar to the Western world. Slavery was not race-based, and it was seldom lifelong; most slaves could expect to be freed by the age of thirty. In fact, a number of people sold themselves into slavery for upward social mobility into otherwise unattainable social circles. Some slaves were well educated and held responsible positions in their households and in society; many had amicable relations with their masters. In the Roman world, Christians like Philemon would have felt no compunction about owning slaves.
The second reason that Paul did not decry the institution of slavery was that his calling was not to change the structures of society, but to build the church—to see people converted and their lives spiritually transformed. For Paul, whether a believer is a slave or not is somewhat irrelevant, as are external circumstances generally; the important thing is serving Christ, whatever one’s situation in life. In other words, Paul is more concerned with Christian life and witness than with physical emancipation. So even slaves can do their work as an act of worship (Eph 6:5-8; Col 3:22-24; cp. 1 Tim 6:1-2). When Paul addresses Christian slaves, he encourages them to accept their lot as a calling in which they can serve Christ; he is their real Master, and in him they are really free (1 Cor 7:20-24).
Paradoxically, every Christian (whether slave or free), having been freed from the most tragic form of slavery—slavery to sin—can now experience true freedom by living as a slave of God and of righteousness (Rom 6:6-22). For Paul, this is the only kind of slavery and freedom that is ultimately significant.
Passages for Further Study
Rom 6:6-22; 1 Cor 7:20-24; 9:19; Eph 6:5-8; Col 3:22-24; 1 Tim 6:1-2; Phlm 1:8-21