Philemon 1:11

Philemon 1:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:
• New International Version (NIV)Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
• English Standard Version (ESV)(Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)
• New King James Version (NKJV)who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.

Context of Philemon 1:11

9for love's sake I rather exhort, being such a one as Paul the aged, and now also prisoner of Jesus Christ. 10I exhort thee for my child, whom I have begotten in [my] bonds, Onesimus, once unserviceable to thee, but now serviceable to thee and to me: 12whom I have sent back to thee: [but do thou receive] him, that is, my bowels: 13whom I was desirous of keeping with myself, that for thee he might minister to me in the bonds of the glad tidings;

Philemon 1:11 word by word

τόν ποτέ σοι ἄχρηστον νυνὶ δὲ καὶ σοὶ καὶ ἐμοὶ εὔχρηστον,Read the interlinear

• onceποτέpote · once/whenG4218
• nowδέde · thenG1161

Cross-references for Philemon 1:11

• Job 30:1But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
• Matthew 25:30And cast out the useless bondman into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
• Luke 17:10Thus ye also, when ye shall have done all things that have been ordered you, say, We are unprofitable bondmen; we have done what it was our duty to do.
• Romans 3:12All have gone out of the way, they have together become unprofitable; there is not one that practises goodness, there is not so much as one:
• 1 Peter 2:10who once [were] not a people, but now God's people; who were not enjoying mercy, but now have found mercy.
• Luke 15:24for this my son was dead and has come to life, was lost and has been found. And they began to make merry.
• 2 Timothy 4:11Luke alone is with me. Take Mark, and bring [him] with thyself, for he is serviceable to me for ministry.

Commentaries on Philemon 1:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11Was to thee unprofitable - Alluding to the meaning of Onesimus's name, as has been already noted; though the apostle uses a different Greek word to express the same idea.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Which in time past was to thee unprofitable - Either because he was indolent; because he had wronged him (compare the notes at Philemon 1:18), or because he had run away from him. It is possible that there may be an allusion here to the meaning of the name “Onesimus,” which denotes “profitable” (from ̓́ oninēmifuture ̓́ onēsōto be useful, to be profitable, to help), and that Paul means to say that he had hitherto not well answered to the meaning of his…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
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11Onesimus means “useful.” Formerly he was useless, but now he has become useful: This might be a play on words (compare 1:20). Onesimus was now serving others and sharing the good news about Jesus. At last he had become what his name means.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. Which ... was ... unprofitable--belying his name Onesimus, which means "profitable." Not only was he "unprofitable," but positively injurious, having "wronged" his master. Paul uses a mild expression. now profitable--Without godliness a man has no station. Profitable in spiritual, as well as in temporal things.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Philemon, Epistle to
• Yoke-Fellow

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