Philemon 1:20

Philemon 1:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.

Context of Philemon 1:20

18If Onesimus has done anything wrong to you, I will make it right again. If he took money from you, I will pay it back. 19I, Paul, am writing this myself: ‘I will pay the money back to you.’ But you should remember what I have given to you already. You have life with God because I told you the good news about Jesus. Yes, my friend, please help me now, because we both belong to the Lord. As a Christian friend, help me to feel happier. 21I am sure that you will do what I ask. That is why I have written this letter to you. I know that you will do even more than this to help me. 22I want to ask you one more thing. Please prepare a room in your home where I can stay. I know that all of you are praying for God to let me go free. As a result, I hope that I will be able to visit you again.

Philemon 1:20 word by word

ναί, ἀδελφέ, ἐγώ σου ὀναίμην ἐν κυρίῳ· ἀνάπαυσόν μου τὰ σπλάγχνα ἐν Χριστῷ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yeaναίnai · yesG3483
• brotherἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• letὀνίνημιoninēmi · to have joyG3685
• meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• of theeσύsu · youG4771
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• refreshἀναπαύωanapauō · to give restG373
• bowelsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• bowelsσπλάγχνονsplagchnon · affection/entrailsG4698
• the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962

Cross-references for Philemon 1:20

• 2 Corinthians 2:2You are the only people who can make me happy. So, if I make you sad, there will be nobody to make me happy.
• 2 Corinthians 7:4I know you and I trust you. I am proud of you. You have helped me to be strong. So, even when we have many troubles, I am still very happy.
• Philippians 2:2Because of that, this is how you can make me completely happy: In your mind, think about things in the same way as one another. Love one another completely. In your spirit, agree with one another. And work together for the same purpose.
• Philippians 4:1My dear Christian friends, I love you very much. I want very much to see you again. You make me very happy. You show that my work among you had good results. Please continue to live in a way that pleases the Lord. This is what I have taught you to do.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:19You are the people that make us very happy! We know that you will continue to trust God. So, when our Lord Jesus returns, we will be proud of you. You will be like a crown that he gives us when we stand in front of him.
• 1 Thessalonians 3:7So we have become happy again because of you, our Christian friends. We continue to suffer and we have much trouble. But we are happy because you continue to trust Christ.
• Hebrews 13:17Respect your leaders and obey them. They watch over your lives on God's behalf. God will check to see if they have done their work well. So respect them, and then they will be happy as they serve God. Do not say bad things against them, because that will never help you.
• 3 John 1:4I am happy when I hear that my children are living like that. When they obey God's true message, it makes me very happy.
• Philemon 1:7My friend, you have helped God's people to feel stronger. Your love for them has made me very happy. It makes me feel stronger too.
• Philippians 1:8God knows that I very much want to be with all of you. I love you very much, just like Christ Jesus himself loves you.
• Philippians 2:1You belong to Christ, and he makes you brave. His love makes you strong. You are able to help one another because his Spirit is in you. You can be kind to each other, and you can forgive each other.
• 1 John 3:17When another believer has trouble, we need to be kind to him. Maybe you have all the things that you need to live. If you see another believer who needs things like that, you should help him. If you refuse to be kind to him, it shows that you do not belong to God. You do not love people in the way that God loves them.

Commentaries on Philemon 1:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Yea, brother - It is even so, that thou art thus indebted to me. Let me have joy of thee, in forgiving Onesimus, and receiving him into thy favor. In the words , which we should translate, let me have Profit of thee, there is an evident paronomasia, or play on the name of Onesimus. See on Philemon 1:2; (note), Philemon 1:11; (note). Refresh my bowels - Gratify the earnest longing of my soul in this. I ask neither thy money nor goods; I ask what will…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord - “By showing me this favor in receiving my friend and brother as I request.” The phrase “in the Lord,” here seems to mean that, if this request was granted, he would recognize the hand of the Lord in it, and would receive it as a favor from him. Refresh my bowels in the Lord - The “bowels,” in the Scriptures, are uniformly spoken of as the seat of the affections - meaning commonly the upper viscera…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-22Verses 15-22 When we speak of the nature of any sin or offence against God, the evil of it is not to be lessened; but in a penitent sinner, as God covers it, so must we. Such changed characters often become a blessing to all among whom they reside. Christianity does not do away our duties to others, but directs to the right doing of them. True penitents will be open in owning their faults, as doubtless Onesimus had been to Paul, upon his being awakened…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20let me have some benefit: Or do me this favor. The Greek word onaimēn (meaning “favor” or “benefit”) may be a wordplay on the name Onesimus, which can mean “useful” or “beneficial” (compare 1:11).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. let me--"me" is emphatic: "Let me have profit (so Greek 'for joy,' onainen, referring to the name Onesimus, 'profitable') from thee, as thou shouldst have had from Onesimus"; for "thou owest thine ownself to me." in the Lord--not in worldly gain, but in thine increase in the graces of the Lord's Spirit [Alford]. my bowels--my heart. Gratify my feelings by granting this request. in the Lord--The oldest manuscripts read, "in Christ," the element or…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• In the Lord
• Refresh; Refreshing

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