whom I desired to keep with me, that on your behalf he might serve me in my chains for the Good News.
Parallel Translations
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whom I desired to keep with me, that on your behalf he might serve me in my chains for the Good News.
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whom I wolde fayne have retayned with me that in thy stede he myght have ministred vnto me in the bondes of the gospell.
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Whom I woulde haue reteined with mee, that in thy steade he might haue ministred vnto me in the bondes of the Gospel.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Philemon 1:13 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,
- Philippians 1:7 It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace.
- 1 Corinthians 16:17 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus; for that which was lacking on your part, they supplied.
- Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
- Philippians 2:30 because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.
- Philemon 1:1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 13. Whom I was desirous to keep beside me.…
13. Whom I was desirous to keep beside me. This is another argument for the purpose of appeasing Philemon, that Paul sends him back a slave, of whose services, in other respects, he stood greatly in need. It would have been extreme cruelty, to disdain so strong affection manifested by Paul. He likewise states indirectly, that it will be a gratification to himself to have Onesimus sent back to him rather than that he should be harshly treated at home.
That he might minister to me instead of thee in the bonds of the gospel. He now mentions other circumstances: first, Onesimus will supply the place of his master, by performing this service; secondly, Paul himself, through modesty, was unwilling to deprive Philemon of his right; and, thirdly, Philemon will receive more applause, if, after having had his slave restored to him, he shall willingly and generously send him back. From this last consideration we infer, that we ought to aid the martyrs of Christ by every kind office in our power, while they are laboring for the testimony of the gospel; for if exile, imprisonment stripes, blows, and violent seizing of our property, are believed by us to belong to the gospel, as Paul here calls them, whoever refuses to share and partake of them separates himself even from Christ. Undoubtedly the defense of the gospel belongs alike to all. Accordingly, he who endures persecution, for the sake of the gospel, ought not to be regarded as a private individual, but as one who publicly represents the whole Church. Hence it follows, that all believers ought to be united in taking care of it, so that they may not, as is frequently done, leave the gospel to be defended in the person of one man.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 13 Whom I would have retained with me, that…
13 Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel:
Ver. 13. In the bonds of the gospel] Which is bound after a sort, when the preachers thereof are imprisoned.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain I have such an opinion of his sincerity, that…
I have such an opinion of his sincerity, that I would willingly have kept him with me, that he might, while I am a prisoner for the gospel of Christ, have done those offices for me, which thou wouldst have done hadst thou been here.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Whom I would have retained with me,.... At Rome,…
Whom I would have retained with me,.... At Rome, where the apostle was a prisoner:
that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the Gospel; the apostle was in bonds, not for any crime, for any immorality he had been guilty of, but for the sake of the Gospel, for professing and preaching that; for this he was an ambassador in bonds, as he elsewhere says, Eph 6:20. Now he would have kept Onesimus with him, either to have waited upon him, in his bonds, and to have provided for him the necessaries of life; or to have assisted him in the ministration of the word, in the room of Philemon, who, had he been there, would have been employed in such service; so that if the apostle had retained him, he would have been acting not for himself, but in the room of his master, and doing what he should have done, had he been on the spot. This the apostle observes to prevent an objection that might have been made; that since Onesimus was become so profitable to him, why did he send him back? why did he not keep him for his own service? this he obviates and removes, by signifying he should have done it, but for the following reason.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain To serve me in thy stead - To do…
To serve me in thy stead - To do those services for me which thou, if present, wouldest gladly have done thyself.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 13. That in thy stead he might have…
Verse 13. That in thy stead he might have ministered unto me] As Philemon was one of Paul's converts, he became thereby his spiritual father, and had a right to his services when in need. This was a strong argument, not only to induce Philemon to forgive his servant, but to send him back to the apostle, that he might minister to him in his master's stead.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Whom I would have retained with me, that in…
Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead - “That he might render me the service which I know you would if you were here.” The Greek is: “for thee” ὑπὲρ σοῦ huper sou; that is, what he should do for Paul might be regarded as done by Philemon himself.
He might have ministered unto me - He might have rendered me assistance (διακονῇ diakonē); to wit, in such a way as one who was in bonds would need.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain I--emphatical. I for my part. Since I had such…
I--emphatical. I for my part. Since I had such implicit trust in him as to desire to keep him with me for his services, thou mayest.
I would have retained--different Greek from the "would," Plm 1:14, "I could have wished," "I was minded" here; but "I was not willing," Plm 1:14.
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in thy stead--that he might supply in your place all the services to me which you, if you were here, would render in virtue of the love you bear to me (Plm 1:19).
bonds of the gospel--my bonds endured for the Gospel's sake (Plm 1:9).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 13. In thy stead—His ministry to Paul would not,…
13. In thy stead—His ministry to Paul would not, therefore, be a servile one—a waiting on the apostle’s bodily wants—but such a ministry as Philemon would have rendered, namely, aid in the Gospel. Slavery in ancient times often held cultured men in its bonds. Tyro, the bondsman of Cicero, was a literary aid to the orator. And there is quite a probability that Onesimus was a more competent apostolic assistant than Philemon. This accounts, in some degree, both for St. Paul’s profound interest in his case, and for the traditions of his subsequent episcopate. The service was such a subordinate ministry as John Mark, and Timothy in his early days, rendered to Paul.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 13. I would] Lit., “I was wishing”; the imperfect…
13. I would] Lit., “I was wishing”; the imperfect indicates a half-purpose, stopped by other considerations. Lightfoot compares for similar imperfects Rom_9:3; Gal_4:20.
me] Lit., myself.
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in thy stead] On thy behalf; as thy representative, substitute, agent. He assumes the loving Philemon’s personal devotion.
ministered] as personal attendant; the habitual reference of the verb. Cp. e.g. Mat_4:11; Mat_8:15; Luk_17:8; Luk_22:26; Joh_12:2; 2Ti_1:18.
of the gospel] “For the hope of Israel,” and of the world, “he was bound with this chain” (Act_28:20). Cp. Php_1:13.
On the word “Gospel” see note on Col_1:5.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (13) Whom I would have retained.—In the original we…
(13) Whom I would have retained.—In the original we have here a graceful distinction in two points between the two clauses. The verb in the first clause is “to wish;” in the second “to will.” The tense in the first clause is the imperfect: “I was wishing,” or “prepared to wish” (just as in Act_25:22; and, in the case of a cognate verb, Rom_9:3), implying, perhaps, a suppressed condition; in the second it is the past definite: “I willed,” or “determined” finally.
In thy stead.—Here, again, there is a certain delicacy of suggestion. A slave was his master’s property; he could act only on his master’s behalf and by his consent. St. Paul is sure that Philemon’s love for him would have gladly given that consent, and so made Onesimus an instrument of willing service to St. Paul.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain I was wishing; I would fain have kept (Revised…
I was wishing; I would fain have kept (Revised Version). The story tells itself if we read between the lines. What steadfast adherence to principle on the part of the apostle, when the help of Onesimus would have been so welcome to him in his weak health, and his position as a prisoner! Philemon could hardly fail to think more favorably of Onesimus, when he saw how much importance the apostle attached to his services. In the bonds of the gospel. "Which I am enduring for the sake of the gospel" (see Ver. 9) a variation of phrase from Ver. 9. (and of our Lord"s words, Mar_8:35 10:29)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain In thy stead he might have ministered unto me
Phm_1:13
In thy stead he might have ministered unto me
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What is this ministering
No doubt it is aiding Paul in his ministerial work, or he would not have said, In thy stead.
It is scarcely to be supposed that Philemon would have ministered to St. Paul in the capacity of a domestic servant; and if Onesimus was to have ministered to the apostle, it was to supply the absence of Philemon in being St. Pauls deacon. There must have been something peculiarly thorough in the conversion of Onesimus, that the apostle should so desire him to be near him. (M. F. Sadler, M. A.)
A ministering friend
There is no need to enlarge on the winning courtesy of these words, so fall of happy confidence in the friends disposition, that they could not but evoke the love to which they trusted so completely. Nor need I do more than point their force for the purpose of the whole letter, the procuring a cordial reception for the returning fugitive. So dear had he become, that Paul would like to have kept him. He goes back with a kind of halo round him, now that he is not only a good-for-nothing runaway, but Pauls friend, and so much prized by him. It would be impossible to do anything but welcome him, bringing such credentials; and yet all this is done with scarcely a word of direct praise, which might have provoked contradiction. One does not know whether the confidence in Onesimus or in Philemon is the dominant note in the harmony, in the preceding clause, he was spoken of as, in some sense, part of the apostles very self. In this he is regarded as, in some sense, part of Philemon. So he is a link between them. Paul would have taken his service as if it had been his masters. Can the master fail to take him as if he were Paul? (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Christian ministration
The gospel is the common cause, that concerns us all: if any suffer for it, we are bound from the highest to the lowest to assist them with our purses, prayers, and personal presence too if conveniently it may be; yea, though we be never so great personages. Our Saviour Himself washed His disciples feet. St. Cyprian writes to the priests and deacons, to provide all things necessary for them that were in prison, wishing that he himself were present with them, readily and willingly he would perform all obsequious duties of love unto them. Helena, the mother of Constantine, when at Jerusalem herself served meat to the virgins there. Placilla, the wife of Theodosius the Emperor, ministered to the poor in her own person; and Philemon himself should have ministered unto St. Paul. The angels minister to us, yea, when we be in prison, as to St. Peter; and shall we scorn, be we never so wealthy, worshipful, honourable, to minister to them that are in bonds for the gospel? Let us count it an honour to us. In ministering to them we minister to Christ, and He will reward it. (W. Jones, D. D.)
A welcome service
I. The apostle intimateth his desire to have retained Onesimus with him, and that he was loath to suffer him to depart from him: which declareth that the presence of those that are dear unto us in Christ is welcome, pleasant, comfortable, and much set by, and we greatly desire to keep them continually with us. For as love is the knot of conjunction that bindeth us together, though we be absent and far severed one from another, so it craveth and requireth the bodily presence of those whom we entirely love, which howsoever we cannot obtain in this life, forasmuch as our earthly affairs will not suffer it, yet we shall be sure to enjoy it perpetually and without end in the life to come, when we shall have the greatest joy and comfort one in another that can be wished or desired; such as the eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive.
II. Note with me the end why he desired to retain Onesimus with him, that the servant might do service to him in the masters stead. The end, then, is the ministry and attendance which Paul might of duty require of Philemon himself. If then the master be bound to do his service, and wait upon the apostle, much more the servant! Whereby we may note how great right and jurisdiction he that hath gained a man in Christ hath over him whom he hath gained, so that he may challenge not only one of his servants, but himself to minister unto him, and to help him in temporal and transitory things. For he that hath received spiritual blessings cannot without great unthankfulness deny corporal benefits, so that it cannot be expressed how well he hath deserved of that person whom he hath won by the Word of God. And delivered him by his ministry from the power of darkness, and translated him into the kingdom of His dear Son.
III. We may observe in the apostles correcting of his former grant, that as he is commended that doth his duty that is required of him, freely and willingly, so he is worthy to be praised and commended, that doth not go about to wring and wrest a benefit against a mans will, though it be due debt and a bounden duty, but laboureth by all means, that it may be voluntary, and not upon necessity; for hereby it cometh to pass oftentimes, that he not only getteth a benefit, but winneth his heart and good will that giveth it, and many times it falleth out that the mind of the giver is more to be respected than the gift itself, as we see in the poor widow mentioned in the gospel, who casting into the treasury two mites, is said to have given of her penury more than all the rich men that bestowed of their superfluity. (W. Attersoll.)
Ministering to the saints
I. Whatever gifts are bestowed upon us, to this end they are bestowed to profit withal, to help one another, and to edify that body whereof we are members.
II. It is our duty to follow the example of our Lord and Master Christ Jesus, He came to serve, not to he served: to minister, not to he ministered unto: to redeem, not to rule.
III. True religion consisteth in ministering to the saints, in helping and succouring of the poor, in employing himself to the good of others, as a candle that spendeth and wasteth itself to give light to them that are in the house. It consisteth not in bare knowledge, but in practice; not in an idle faith, but in the fruits of love. Uses:
1. This serveth to reprove those that have forgotten all true service to the faithful. Many there are that have no feeling of the troubles that fall upon the servants of God. Their eyes are closed, and their hearts are hardened; they have no bowels of compassion to minister unto them, they have no hands open to relieve them. The rich of our Churches, who have this worlds goods given unto them, are either in their unsatiable desires poor, wrongfully getting, miserably keeping, unconscionably scraping, and unjustly pulling from others without mean or measure; or else they spend their wealth and consume their substance, some in sumptuous apparel, others in excessive feastings, others in worse uses, all being unnecessary and fruitless things, unprofitable for the Church or commonwealth, so that little can be spared for the poor saints, and that which is spared is as hardly drawn from them as a piece of flesh out of their sides. These men never think of doing service to others, but of serving their own turns and commodities, which ought not so to be among them that profess Christ Jesus, who served not Himself.
2. Seeing we are servants to all, to help them by all the means we can, by comfort or counsel, by word or deed, by our wealth or authority, or whatsoever God shall enable us; from hence ariseth a great comfort unto a mans conscience, and an assurance of his peace and acceptation with God, to pray unto Him with comfort for His graces, not doubting to obtain them, if we have been serviceable and comfortable unto others, especially to the servants of God, that are as dear to Him as the apple of His eye. It is a means of excellent joy and peace to a man, to consider that he hath employed all the good things he hath to the use of Gods house and His household servants, for when any common danger shall fall, or he find anguish and affliction of conscience for sin, he may be assured of comfort, seeing God hath wrought this sincerity, and set it as a seal of His mercy in his heart.
3. Seeing God requireth of all true Christians, of what condition soever they be, according to the means afforded unto them, to use their gifts, their power, their possessions, and whatsoever benefits they have received, to use them to the comfort and service of Gods saints, it kindleth the affections of Gods people to bless and praise God for them, to speak well of them, to pray unto God for them, and to obtain greater blessings for them than they have bestowed. Thus they that do good to the Church do good to themselves; they that give much unto them do receive more themselves, and such as have been helpful and serviceable to Gods people, shall find them as their remembrancers to God, who will not forget the labour of their love, and the duty of their service.
4. Seeing God requireth service to His Church at our hands to do all good to them by all good means, it is our duty to inquire and learn the estate of the distressed Church, that we may know and be informed where and when and how it is afflicted. This is one misery of the faithful, that men do not regard them when they are in misery. The Lord hath determined that there shall be always some objects offered unto us and set before us to exercise the fruits of our faith and love. (W. Attersoll.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 13. Whom I would have retained. Would gladly have…
13. Whom I would have retained. Would gladly have kept him with me to render for thee the service you would be glad to give me while I am in chains, only
(14) without thy mind would I do nothing. He wished, if such a service was rendered, it might be with Philemon's free consent.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 13. “Whom I wish to have with me, in…
13. “Whom I wish to have with me, in order that he may minister to me in thy behalf in the bonds of the gospel,
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:13-14 Paul hints at his desire that Philemon choose…
1:13-14 Paul hints at his desire that Philemon choose to free Onesimus to serve as Paul’s helper (also 1:21). The Christian life is a free response to God’s grace (Rom 12:1; Eph 4:1; Col 3:12-13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.