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 to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison. 11Onesimus hasn’t been of much use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us. I am sending him back to you, and with him comes my own heart. 13I wanted to keep him here with me while I am in these chains for preaching the Good News, and he would have helped me on your behalf. 14But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent. I wanted you to help because you were willing, not because you were forced.

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“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
• Matthew 18:21Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
• Mark 11:25But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
• Ephesians 4:32Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
• Deuteronomy 13:6“Suppose someone secretly entices you—even your brother, your son or daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend—and says, ‘Let us go worship other gods’—gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known.
• 2 Samuel 16:11Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it.
• Jeremiah 31:20“Is not Israel still my son, my darling child?” says the Lord. “I often have to punish him, but I still love him. That’s why I long for him and surely will have mercy on him.
• Luke 15:20“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and 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