Philemon 1:12

Philemon 1:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:
• New International Version (NIV)I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,

Context of Philemon 1:12

10I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while I was in chains. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. I am sending back to you him who is my very heart. 13I would have liked to keep him with me, so that on your behalf he could minister to me in my chains for the gospel. 14But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.

Philemon 1:12 word by word

ὃν ἀνέπεμψά σοι αὐτόν, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν τὰ ἐμὰ σπλάγχναRead the interlinear

• I am sending backὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• I am sending backἀναπέμπωanapempō · to send backG375
• to youσύsu · youG4771
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• whoοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• myἐμόςemos · mineG1699
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• very heartσπλάγχνονsplagchnon · affection/entrailsG4698

Cross-references for Philemon 1:12

• Matthew 6:14For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
• Matthew 18:21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
• Mark 11:25And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”
• Ephesians 4:32Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
• Deuteronomy 13:6If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (which neither you nor your fathers have known,
• 2 Samuel 16:11Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son, my own flesh and blood, seeks my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone and let him curse me, for the LORD has told him so.
• Jeremiah 31:20Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD.
• Luke 15:20So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

Commentaries on Philemon 1:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Whom I have sent again - The Christian religion never cancels any civil relations; a slave, on being converted, and becoming a free man of Christ, has no right to claim, on that ground, emancipation from the service of his master. Justice, therefore, required St. Paul to send back Onesimus to his master, and conscience obliged Onesimus to agree in the propriety of the measure; but love to the servant induced the apostle to write this conciliating letter…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Whom I have sent again - That is, to Philemon. This was, doubtless, at his own request, for: (1) there is not the slightest evidence that he compelled him, or even urged him to go. The language is just such as would have been used on the supposition either that he requested him to go and bear a letter to Colosse, or that Onesimus desired to go, and that Paul sent him agreeably to his request; compare Philemon 2:25. “Yet I suppose it necessary to send to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-14Verses 8-14 It does not lower any one to condescend, and sometimes even to beseech, where, in strictness of right, we might command: the apostle argues from love, rather than authority, in behalf of one converted through his means; and this was Onesimus. In allusion to that name, which signifies "profitable," the apostle allows that in time past he had been unprofitable to Philemon, but hastens to mention the change by which he had become profitable…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. mine own bowels--as dear to me as my own heart [Alford]. Compare Phm 17, "as myself." The object of my most intense affection as that of a parent for a child.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Onesimus
• Person, Personality
• Slave; Slavery

Commentaries on Philemon 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings