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 am appealing to you concerning my child, whose spiritual father I have become during my imprisonment, that is, Onesimus, 11who was formerly useless to you, but is now useful to you and me. I have sent him (who is my very heart) back to you. 13I wanted to keep him so that he could serve me in your place during my imprisonment for the sake of the gospel. 14However, without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your good deed would not be out of compulsion, but from your own willingness.

Philemon 1:12 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• I have sent againἀναπέμπωanapempō · to send backG375
• thouσύsu · youG4771
• thereforeδέde · thenG1161
• receiveπροσλαμβάνωproslambanō · to takeG4355
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• thatοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• mine ownἐμόςemos · mineG1699
• bowelsσπλάγχνονsplagchnon · affection/entrailsG4698

Cross-references for Philemon 1:12

• Matthew 6:14“For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
• Matthew 18:21Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?”
• Mark 11:25Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your sins.”
• Ephesians 4:32Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.
• Deuteronomy 13:6Suppose your own full brother, your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have previously known,
• 2 Samuel 16:11Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son, my very own flesh and blood, is trying to take my life. So also now this Benjaminite! Leave him alone so that he can curse, for the Lord has spoken to him.
• Jeremiah 31:20Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children. They are the children I take delight in. For even though I must often rebuke them, I still remember them with fondness. So I am deeply moved with pity for them and will surely have compassion on them. I, the Lord, affirm it!
• Luke 15:20So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son 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