Philemon 1
The one opening of Paul’s that begins with ‘prisoner’ rather than ‘apostle’ — Paul and Timothy to Philemon, Apphia, Archippus and the assembly in the house; the letter moves between ‘you’ singular and plural. Paul gives thanks for Philemon’s love and faith, through whom the bowels of the holy ones have been given rest. Though free to command, he exhorts as an old man and a prisoner — for Onesimus, his child begotten in bonds, once useless, now useful (his name means ‘useful’), sent back as Paul’s own bowels. Paul wanted to keep him, but not without Philemon’s opinion; perhaps he was separated for an hour so that Philemon might have him forever, beyond a slave, a beloved brother. Take him as me; put any debt to my account — I, Paul, wrote this with my own hand, I will pay it — not to mention that you owe me yourself. Give my bowels rest. Prepare a lodging; through your prayers I hope to be granted to you. Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke greet you. Grace be with your spirit.
Why this rendering
Phlm.1.3 Observation
Syntactic observation
Παῦλος δέσμιος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφὸς Φιλήμονι τῷ ἀγαπητῷ καὶ συνεργῷ ἡμῶν καὶ Ἀπφίᾳ τῇ ἀδελφῇ καὶ Ἀρχίππῳ τῷ συστρατιώτῃ ἡμῶν καὶ τῇ κατ’ οἶκόν σου ἐκκλησίᾳ· χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ — Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy the brother, to Philemon the beloved and our fellow worker, and to Apphia the sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the assembly in your house: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Παῦλος δέσμιος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ ‘Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus’ — the only opening of Paul’s that begins with ‘prisoner’ rather than ‘apostle’ · the phrase of Eph 3:1 ‘the prisoner of Christ Jesus’ · again at v.9 · καὶ Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφός ‘and Timothy the brother’ — the construction of Col 1:1 · 2 Cor 1:1 · four recipients in the dative — Φιλήμονι τῷ ἀγαπητῷ καὶ συνεργῷ ἡμῶν ‘to Philemon the beloved and our fellow worker’ (the name once in the New Testament · Col 4:11 ‘fellow worker’) · Ἀπφίᾳ τῇ ⸀ἀδελφῇ ‘to Apphia the sister’ (once · the Received Text ‘the beloved’) · Ἀρχίππῳ τῷ συστρατιώτῃ ἡμῶν ‘to Archippus our fellow soldier’ (the Archippus of Col 4:17 · Phil 2:25 ‘fellow soldier’ — two places in the New Testament) · τῇ κατ’ οἶκόν σου ἐκκλησίᾳ ‘to the assembly in your house’ (Col 4:15 ‘the assembly in her house’ · Rom 16:5) · ‘your house’ — whose, of the four, the singular σου does not say · χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ‘grace to you and peace’ — plural ὑμῖν · the letter moves between ‘you’ singular (vv.4-21) and plural (vv.3 · 22 · 25) · unlike the three Pastoral letters, two without ‘mercy’ · ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ — unlike Col 1:2, ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ is present.
Rendering options · 3
Basis Eph 3:1 · 4:1 ‘prisoner’ as fixed — not ‘captive’ · the absence of ‘apostle’ kept.
Basis Only vv.3 · 22 · 25 are plural · vv.4-21 singular — a letter to one man with an assembly alongside · the singular ‘you’ and ‘you all’ stand in one letter.
Basis The Received Text ‘the beloved Apphia’ — the base text’s ‘sister’ rendered.
Lost in translation
ὑμῖν (v.3) / σου (v.2) — plural and singular in one opening. ‘You (all) / your’ carry the change.
δέσμιος (v.1) / Eph 3:1 — ‘prisoner’ keeps the phrase · in place of apostle.
συνεργῷ · συστρατιώτῃ (vv.1-2) — συν- twice. ‘Fellow’ twice keeps it.
κατ’ οἶκόν σου (v.2) — whose ‘your’ among the four. ‘Your house’ leaves it open.
χάρις … καὶ εἰρήνη (v.3) — two. Kept without ‘mercy’.
Φιλήμονι … Ἀπφίᾳ … Ἀρχίππῳ … ἐκκλησίᾳ (vv.1-2) — four datives. ‘To’ repeated four times.
Why this rendering
Phlm.1.7 Observation
Syntactic observation
Εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ μου πάντοτε μνείαν σου ποιούμενος ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν μου, ἀκούων σου τὴν ἀγάπην καὶ τὴν πίστιν ἣν ἔχεις πρὸς τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν καὶ εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους, ὅπως ἡ κοινωνία τῆς πίστεώς σου ἐνεργὴς γένηται ἐν ἐπιγνώσει παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν εἰς Χριστόν· χαρὰν γὰρ πολλὴν ἔσχον καὶ παράκλησιν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀγάπῃ σου, ὅτι τὰ σπλάγχνα τῶν ἁγίων ἀναπέπαυται διὰ σοῦ, ἀδελφέ — I thank my God always, making remembrance of you in my prayers, hearing of your love and the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the holy ones, so that the fellowship of your faith may become effective in the knowledge of every good thing that is in us toward Christ. For I had much joy and consolation over your love, because the bowels of the holy ones have been given rest through you, brother. Εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ μου πάντοτε ‘I thank my God always’ — Rom 1:8 · Phil 1:3 ‘I thank my God’ · μνείαν σου ποιούμενος ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν μου ‘making remembrance of you in my prayers’ — the phrase of Rom 1:9 ‘I make remembrance of you’ (μνείαν ποιοῦμαι) · ἀκούων σου τὴν ἀγάπην καὶ τὴν πίστιν ‘hearing of your love and the faith’ — the order of Col 1:4 ‘faith and love’ reversed · ἣν ἔχεις ⸀πρὸς τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν καὶ εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους ‘that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the holy ones’ — two prepositions (πρός · εἰς — the Received Text εἰς twice) · whether both love and faith reach both objects, or love the people and faith the Lord (crosswise), the text does not settle · ὅπως ἡ κοινωνία τῆς πίστεώς σου ‘so that the fellowship of your faith’ — the word of Phil 2:1 ‘fellowship of the Spirit’ · ‘of your faith’ — sharing faith or born of faith, left open · ἐνεργὴς γένηται ‘may become effective’ — 1 Cor 16:9 ‘effective’ (three places in the New Testament) · ἐν ἐπιγνώσει παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ ⸀τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν εἰς ⸀Χριστόν ‘in the knowledge of every good thing that is in us toward Christ’ — 1 Tim 2:4 ‘knowledge’ · the Received Text lacks the article and reads ‘Christ Jesus’ · v.6 is the most open verse of the letter — what becomes effective in knowledge, and where ‘toward Christ’ attaches, the text does not say. ⸀χαρὰν γὰρ ⸂πολλὴν ἔσχον⸃ καὶ παράκλησιν ‘For I had much joy and consolation’ — 2 Thess 2:16 ‘consolation’ · the Received Text reads ‘grace’ and has the other order · ὅτι τὰ σπλάγχνα τῶν ἁγίων ἀναπέπαυται διὰ σοῦ ‘because the bowels of the holy ones have been given rest through you’ — Phil 2:1 · Col 3:12 ‘bowels’ · ‘bowels’ three times in this letter (vv.7 · 12 · 20) · 2 Cor 7:13 ‘be given rest’ (perfect passive) · paired with v.20 ‘give my bowels rest’ · ἀδελφέ ‘brother’ — again at v.20.
Rendering options · 4
Basis Col 1:4 ‘faith and love’ reversed — not corrected · the crosswise reading (love for the holy ones, faith toward the Lord) is recorded here.
Basis Levelled to the order of Col 1:4.
Rejected Changes the base text’s order.
Basis Phil 2:1 · Col 3:12 ‘bowels’ as fixed — ‘heart’ would cut the thread of vv.7 · 12 · 20 · v.12 ‘my bowels’ is Onesimus himself.
Basis ‘Working’ is the site of ἐνεργέω · the adjective ‘effective’ as fixed.
Lost in translation
πρὸς τὸν κύριον … εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους (v.5) — two prepositions. ‘Toward / for’ keep them apart.
τὴν ἀγάπην καὶ τὴν πίστιν (v.5) — how they attach to the two objects. Left on both, open.
σπλάγχνα (vv.7 · 12 · 20) — ‘bowels’ three times keeps the thread.
ἀναπέπαυται (v.7) / ἀνάπαυσον (v.20) — ‘be given rest / give rest’ keep one verb.
τῆς πίστεώς σου (v.6) — the grain of the genitive. ‘The fellowship of your faith’ leaves it open.
μνείαν σου ποιούμενος (v.4) / Rom 1:9 — ‘making remembrance’ keeps the phrase.
Why this rendering
Phlm.1.14 Observation
Syntactic observation
Διό, πολλὴν ἐν Χριστῷ παρρησίαν ἔχων ἐπιτάσσειν σοι τὸ ἀνῆκον, διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην μᾶλλον παρακαλῶ, τοιοῦτος ὢν ὡς Παῦλος πρεσβύτης νυνὶ δὲ καὶ δέσμιος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ— παρακαλῶ σε περὶ τοῦ ἐμοῦ τέκνου, ὃν ἐγέννησα ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς Ὀνήσιμον, τόν ποτέ σοι ἄχρηστον νυνὶ δὲ σοὶ καὶ ἐμοὶ εὔχρηστον, ὃν ἀνέπεμψά σοι αὐτόν, τοῦτ’ ἔστιν τὰ ἐμὰ σπλάγχνα· ὃν ἐγὼ ἐβουλόμην πρὸς ἐμαυτὸν κατέχειν, ἵνα ὑπὲρ σοῦ μοι διακονῇ ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, χωρὶς δὲ τῆς σῆς γνώμης οὐδὲν ἠθέλησα ποιῆσαι, ἵνα μὴ ὡς κατὰ ἀνάγκην τὸ ἀγαθόν σου ᾖ ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἑκούσιον — Therefore, though having much openness in Christ to command you what is proper, because of love I rather exhort — being such a one as Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus — I exhort you concerning my child, whom I begot in my bonds, Onesimus, who was once useless to you but now is useful both to you and to me, whom I have sent back to you — him, that is, my bowels. I was wanting to hold him with me, so that on your behalf he might serve me in the bonds of the gospel; but without your opinion I wanted to do nothing, so that your good might be not as by necessity but by free will. Διό, πολλὴν ἐν Χριστῷ παρρησίαν ἔχων ἐπιτάσσειν σοι τὸ ἀνῆκον ‘Therefore, though having much openness in Christ to command you what is proper’ — 1 Tim 3:13 ‘openness’ · Mark 1:27 ‘command’ (ἐπιτάσσω — a different word from 1 Tim 1:3 παραγγέλλω ‘charge’) · Col 3:18 ‘proper’ · διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην μᾶλλον παρακαλῶ ‘because of love I rather exhort’ — 1 Tim 2:1 ‘exhort’ · exhortation in place of command — the shape of the letter · τοιοῦτος ὢν ὡς Παῦλος πρεσβύτης ‘being such a one as Paul, an old man’ — Titus 2:2 ‘old man’ (the word of Luke 1:18) · the reading ‘ambassador’ is not the base text’s word · νυνὶ δὲ καὶ δέσμιος ⸂Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ⸃ ‘and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus’ — taking up v.1 · the Received Text the other order · the base text’s dash. παρακαλῶ σε περὶ τοῦ ἐμοῦ τέκνου ‘I exhort you concerning my child’ — ‘I exhort’ twice (vv.9 · 10) · ὃν ἐγέννησα ἐν τοῖς ⸀δεσμοῖς ‘whom I begot in my bonds’ — 1 Cor 4:15 ‘I begot you’ · Phil 1:7 ‘bonds’ · the Received Text adds ‘my’ · Ὀνήσιμον ‘Onesimus’ — the name comes at the end of the clause (the Onesimus of Col 4:9) · the name means ‘useful’, and the next verse plays on it · τόν ποτέ σοι ἄχρηστον νυνὶ ⸀δὲ σοὶ καὶ ἐμοὶ εὔχρηστον ‘who was once useless to you but now is useful both to you and to me’ — ἄχρηστος once in the New Testament · 2 Tim 2:21 ‘useful’ (εὔχρηστος) · ‘useless / useful’ the negation and intensive of one root (χρηστός) · a play on ‘Onesimus’ (useful) — the name survives only as a sound (recorded) · Rom 7:9 ‘once’ · ὃν ἀνέπεμψά ⸂σοι αὐτόν, τοῦτ’ ἔστιν τὰ ἐμὰ σπλάγχνα⸃ ‘whom I have sent back to you — him, that is, my bowels’ — Luke 23:11 ‘send back’ · αὐτόν doubles the relative (a Semitic grain) · ‘my bowels’ = Onesimus · the Received Text has other words and order · ὃν ἐγὼ ἐβουλόμην πρὸς ἐμαυτὸν κατέχειν ‘I was wanting to hold him with me’ — imperfect · ἐγώ expressed · 2 Thess 2:6 ‘hold’ · ἵνα ὑπὲρ σοῦ ⸂μοι διακονῇ⸃ ‘so that on your behalf he might serve me’ — the Received Text the other order · ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ‘in the bonds of the gospel’ — taking up v.10 · χωρὶς δὲ τῆς σῆς γνώμης οὐδὲν ἠθέλησα ποιῆσαι ‘but without your opinion I wanted to do nothing’ — 1 Cor 7:25 ‘opinion’ · v.13 ‘was wanting’ (βούλομαι) and v.14 ‘wanted’ (θέλω) are different verbs · ἵνα μὴ ὡς κατὰ ἀνάγκην τὸ ἀγαθόν σου ᾖ ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἑκούσιον ‘so that your good might be not as by necessity but by free will’ — the pair of 2 Cor 9:7 ‘not out of necessity’ · ἑκούσιος once · what ‘your good’ is the text does not say.
Rendering options · 4
Basis 2 Tim 2:21 ‘useful’ (εὔχρηστος) as fixed, with the negation ‘useless’ — ‘use’ ties the two · the play on ‘Onesimus’ (useful) survives only as a sound.
Basis The base text’s word is πρεσβύτης (old man); the word for ‘ambassador’ is a different word, one letter longer, not rendered.
Basis A conjectural reading.
Rejected Not in the base text.
Basis Also readable as ‘for you’, but the context is Onesimus doing the service Philemon would do — closed as ‘on your behalf’, the other path recorded.
Lost in translation
Ὀνήσιμον … ἄχρηστον … εὔχρηστον (vv.10-11) — the play between the name (useful) and the two words. ‘Onesimus’ is a sound; only ‘use’ survives.
ἄχρηστον / εὔχρηστον (v.11) — negation and intensive on one root. ‘Useless / useful’ share ‘use’.
ἐβουλόμην (v.13) / ἠθέλησα (v.14) — two verbs. ‘Was wanting / wanted’ cover both with one.
ἐπιτάσσειν (v.8) / 1 Tim 1:3 παραγγέλλω — two words. ‘Command / charge’ keep them apart.
ὑπὲρ σοῦ (v.13) — on behalf of or for. Closed as ‘on your behalf’.
ὃν … αὐτόν (v.12) — the pronoun doubling the relative. ‘Whom … him’ keeps the doubling.
Why this rendering
Phlm.1.21 Observation
Syntactic observation
τάχα γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἐχωρίσθη πρὸς ὥραν ἵνα αἰώνιον αὐτὸν ἀπέχῃς, οὐκέτι ὡς δοῦλον ἀλλὰ ὑπὲρ δοῦλον, ἀδελφὸν ἀγαπητόν, μάλιστα ἐμοί, πόσῳ δὲ μᾶλλον σοὶ καὶ ἐν σαρκὶ καὶ ἐν κυρίῳ. Εἰ οὖν με ἔχεις κοινωνόν, προσλαβοῦ αὐτὸν ὡς ἐμέ. εἰ δέ τι ἠδίκησέν σε ἢ ὀφείλει, τοῦτο ἐμοὶ ἐλλόγα· ἐγὼ Παῦλος ἔγραψα τῇ ἐμῇ χειρί, ἐγὼ ἀποτίσω· ἵνα μὴ λέγω σοι ὅτι καὶ σεαυτόν μοι προσοφείλεις. ναί, ἀδελφέ, ἐγώ σου ὀναίμην ἐν κυρίῳ· ἀνάπαυσόν μου τὰ σπλάγχνα ἐν Χριστῷ. πεποιθὼς τῇ ὑπακοῇ σου ἔγραψά σοι, εἰδὼς ὅτι καὶ ὑπὲρ ἃ λέγω ποιήσεις — For perhaps for this reason he was separated for an hour, so that you might have him in full forever, no longer as a slave but beyond a slave, a beloved brother — most of all to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. If, then, you hold me as a partner, take him to yourself as me. And if he wronged you in anything or owes you, put that to my account. I, Paul, have written with my own hand: I will pay it back — not to say to you that you owe me even your own self besides. Yes, brother, may I have benefit of you in the Lord; give my bowels rest in Christ. Trusting in your obedience I have written to you, knowing that you will do even beyond what I say. τάχα γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἐχωρίσθη πρὸς ὥραν ‘For perhaps for this reason he was separated for an hour’ — Rom 5:7 ‘perhaps’ (two places in the New Testament) · 1 Cor 7:10 ‘be separated’ (passive — not ‘ran away’; who separated him the text does not say) · the phrase πρὸς ὥραν of Gal 2:5 ‘even for an hour’ · ἵνα αἰώνιον αὐτὸν ἀπέχῃς ‘so that you might have him in full forever’ — the verb of Matt 6:2 ‘they have their reward in full’ · Phil 4:18 ‘I have all things in full’ (commercial idiom) · the pair ‘an hour / forever’ · οὐκέτι ὡς δοῦλον ἀλλὰ ὑπὲρ δοῦλον ‘no longer as a slave but beyond a slave’ — ‘slave’ twice · ὑπέρ ‘beyond’ · ἀδελφὸν ἀγαπητόν ‘a beloved brother’ — the words of Col 4:9 ‘Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother’ · μάλιστα ἐμοί, πόσῳ δὲ μᾶλλον σοί ‘most of all to me, but how much more to you’ — 1 Tim 4:10 ‘most of all’ · Matt 7:11 ‘how much more’ · καὶ ἐν σαρκὶ καὶ ἐν κυρίῳ ‘both in the flesh and in the Lord’ — ‘flesh’ (σάρξ) — the grain of slave and master · Εἰ οὖν με ἔχεις κοινωνόν ‘If, then, you hold me as a partner’ — 2 Cor 8:23 ‘my partner’ · προσλαβοῦ αὐτὸν ὡς ἐμέ ‘take him to yourself as me’ — Rom 14:1 ‘take to yourselves’ · ‘as me’ — taking up v.12 ‘my bowels’ · εἰ δέ τι ἠδίκησέν σε ἢ ὀφείλει ‘And if he wronged you in anything or owes you’ — Gal 4:12 ‘wrong’ · Rom 13:8 ‘owe’ · what the matter was the text does not say · τοῦτο ἐμοὶ ⸀ἐλλόγα ‘put that to my account’ — Rom 5:13 ‘put to account’ (two places) · the Received Text another form · ἐγὼ Παῦλος ἔγραψα τῇ ἐμῇ χειρί ‘I, Paul, have written with my own hand’ — 1 Cor 16:21 · Col 4:18 ‘with my own hand, Paul’ · ἐγώ expressed twice · ἐγὼ ἀποτίσω ‘I will pay it back’ — 2 Thess 1:9 τίνω ‘pay’ with ἀπο- (once in the New Testament) · a different word from 2 Tim 4:8·14 ἀποδίδωμι ‘repay’ · the grain of a promissory note · ἵνα μὴ λέγω σοι ὅτι καὶ σεαυτόν μοι προσοφείλεις ‘not to say to you that you owe me even your own self besides’ — saying while saying he will not · προσοφείλω occurs once in the New Testament — Rom 13:8 ὀφείλω ‘owe’ with the prefix meaning ‘besides’ · ναί, ἀδελφέ ‘Yes, brother’ — Luke 11:51 ‘yes’ · v.7 ‘brother’ · ἐγώ σου ὀναίμην ἐν κυρίῳ ‘may I have benefit of you in the Lord’ — ὀνίνημι once · optative · the root of ‘Onesimus’ (ὀνίνημι), a second play on the name — surviving only as a sound · ἐγώ expressed · ἀνάπαυσόν μου τὰ σπλάγχνα ἐν ⸀Χριστῷ ‘give my bowels rest in Christ’ — taking up v.7 (then the bowels of the holy ones, now mine) · the Received Text ‘in the Lord’ · πεποιθὼς τῇ ὑπακοῇ σου ἔγραψά σοι ‘Trusting in your obedience I have written to you’ — Phil 1:14 ‘trust in’ (dative) · Rom 1:5 ‘obedience’ · he calls it exhortation and names obedience · εἰδὼς ὅτι καὶ ὑπὲρ ⸀ἃ λέγω ποιήσεις ‘knowing that you will do even beyond what I say’ — ὑπέρ ‘beyond’ (the same preposition as v.16) · the Received Text singular · what lies ‘beyond’ the text does not say.
Rendering options · 4
Basis 1 Cor 7:10 ‘be separated’ (passive) as fixed — ‘ran away’ imports an active the text lacks · who separated him the text does not say.
Basis The familiar reading.
Rejected Turns passive into active and supplies a flight the text does not state.
Basis τίνω of 2 Thess 1:9 ‘pay a penalty’ with ἀπο- — a different word from 2 Tim 4:8·14 ‘repay’ (ἀποδίδωμι), kept apart.
Basis The root verb of ‘Onesimus’ — not the word of ὠφελέω ‘profit’ · neither language can tie name and verb by sound (recorded).
Lost in translation
ὀναίμην (v.20) / Ὀνήσιμος (v.10) — the root of the name. ‘Benefit / Onesimus’ do not connect.
πρὸς ὥραν / αἰώνιον (v.15) — an hour and forever. ‘For an hour / forever’ keep the pair.
ἐχωρίσθη (v.15) — passive. ‘Was separated’ carries the voice · no agent supplied.
ἀποτίσω (v.19) / 2 Thess 1:9 τίσουσιν — ‘pay back / pay’ keep the root · apart from ἀποδίδωμι ‘repay’.
ὀφείλει (v.18) / προσοφείλεις (v.19) — ‘owes / owe … besides’ keep the root.
ὑπὲρ δοῦλον (v.16) / ὑπὲρ ἃ λέγω (v.21) — the same preposition. ‘Beyond’ twice keeps it.
Why this rendering
Phlm.1.25 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἑτοίμαζέ μοι ξενίαν, ἐλπίζω γὰρ ὅτι διὰ τῶν προσευχῶν ὑμῶν χαρισθήσομαι ὑμῖν. Ἀσπάζεταί σε Ἐπαφρᾶς ὁ συναιχμάλωτός μου ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, Μᾶρκος, Ἀρίσταρχος, Δημᾶς, Λουκᾶς, οἱ συνεργοί μου. Ἡ χάρις τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος ὑμῶν — And at the same time also prepare me a lodging, for I hope that through your prayers I shall be granted to you as a favour. Epaphras, my fellow captive in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἑτοίμαζέ μοι ξενίαν ‘And at the same time also prepare me a lodging’ — 1 Thess 5:10 ‘at the same time’ · 2 Tim 2:21 ‘make ready’ · Acts 28:23 ‘lodging’ (two places in the New Testament) · ‘you’ singular · ἐλπίζω γὰρ ὅτι διὰ τῶν προσευχῶν ὑμῶν χαρισθήσομαι ὑμῖν ‘for I hope that through your prayers I shall be granted to you as a favour’ — ‘you’ returns to the plural · the future passive of Acts 27:24 ‘God has granted you as a favour’ (persons) · ‘prayers’ — paired with v.4 ‘my prayers’ · ⸀Ἀσπάζεταί σε Ἐπαφρᾶς ‘Epaphras greets you’ — the Epaphras of Col 1:7 · 4:12 · the Received Text plural ‘greet’ · ὁ συναιχμάλωτός μου ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ‘my fellow captive in Christ Jesus’ — Col 4:10 called Aristarchus ‘fellow captive’ — here Epaphras · five names overlap with Col 4:10-14 (Mark · Aristarchus · Demas · Luke · Epaphras) — of the Colossian names, ‘the physician’ is absent and so is Jesus Justus · οἱ συνεργοί μου ‘my fellow workers’ — v.1’s word for Philemon, now for four · Ἡ χάρις τοῦ ⸀κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος ⸀ὑμῶν ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit’ — the close of Gal 6:18 · Phil 4:23 (plural ‘your spirit’) · 2 Tim 4:22 had ‘your spirit’ singular · the Received Text adds ‘our’ and Amen.
Rendering options · 3
Basis Acts 27:24 ‘has granted you as a favour all those sailing with you’ (persons to a person) as fixed — ‘freely give’ is the site of things, ‘show grace’ the site of faults.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected Loses the root of ‘grace’ (χάρις) · ‘restore’ is not in the text.
Basis ἑτοίμαζέ (singular command) → ὑμῶν · ὑμῖν (plural) — the shift within one verse.
Lost in translation
ἑτοίμαζε … ὑμῶν … ὑμῖν (v.22) — from singular command to plural. ‘Prepare … you all’ carry the shift.
χαρισθήσομαι (v.22) / χάρις (v.25) — ‘granted as a favour / grace’ are cut.
συνεργοί (v.24) / συνεργῷ (v.1) — ‘fellow worker(s)’ keeps the word · Philemon and the four.
συναιχμάλωτος (v.23) / Col 4:10 — Epaphras and Aristarchus. ‘Fellow captive’ keeps the word.
τῶν προσευχῶν ὑμῶν (v.22) / v.4 τῶν προσευχῶν μου — ‘prayers’ twice keeps the pair.
μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος ὑμῶν (v.25) / 2 Tim 4:22 σου — plural and singular. ‘Your spirit’ needs the count spelled out.