Introduction

Philemon was known to be a follower of Yeshua and he was a member of a group of believers in the city of Colossae. He was the owner of a slave named Onesimus. Onesimus had fled from his master and eventually met Paul the missionary in prison in Rome. It was there that Onesimus became a believer in Yeshua because of Paul’s sharing of the good message. Here in Paul’s letter to Philemon, Paul requests that the good relationship be restored between Philemon and his slave, Onesimus. Because Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon, he wanted Philemon to take his slave back in, not just because he’d forgiven his slave, but also because his slave was now a fellow believer and hence his brother.

This is still a very early look into the unfinished text of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check the text in advance before using in public.