Philemon 1:20

International Standard Version

Yes, brother, I desire this favor from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ![xr]

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Yes, brother, may I benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

King James Version (1611)
Yea, brother, let mee haue ioy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowles in the Lord.

King James Version
Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.

English Standard Version
Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

New American Standard Bible
Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

New Century Version
So, my brother, I ask that you do this for me in the Lord: Refresh my heart in Christ.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

Legacy Standard Bible
Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ!

Berean Standard Bible
Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

Contemporary English Version
My dear friend and follower of Christ our Lord, please cheer me up by doing this for me.

Complete Jewish Bible
Yes, brother, please do me this favor in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Messiah.

Darby Translation
Yea, brother, *I* would have profit of *thee* in [the] Lord: refresh my bowels in Christ.

Easy-to-Read Version
So, my brother, as a follower of the Lord please do this favor for me. It would be such a great encouragement to me as your brother in Christ.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Yea, brother, let mee obteine this pleasure of thee in the Lorde: comfort my bowels in the Lorde.

George Lamsa Translation
Indeed, my brother, let me have comfort through you in our LORD: refresh my heart in Christ.

Good News Translation
So, my brother, please do me this favor for the Lord's sake; as a brother in Christ, cheer me up!

Lexham English Bible
Yes, brother, I ought to have some benefit of you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

Literal Translation
Yes, brother, that I may have your help in the Lord, refresh my heart in the Lord.

Amplified Bible
Yes, brother, let me have some benefit and joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

American Standard Version
Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my heart in Christ.

Bible in Basic English
So brother, let me have joy of you in the Lord: give new life to my heart in Christ.

Hebrew Names Version
Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord.

Etheridge Translation
Yes, my brother, I will be refreshed by thee in our Lord; refresh my bowels in the Meshiha.

Murdock Translation
Yes, my brother, let me be refreshed by thee in our Lord: refresh thou my bowels in the Messiah.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Yea brother, let me enioy this pleasure of thee in the Lorde: Comfort my bowels in the Lorde.

English Revised Version
Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my heart in Christ.

World English Bible
Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in Christ.

Weymouth's New Testament
Yes, brother, do me this favour for the Lord's sake. Refresh my heart in Christ.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
So, brothir, Y schal vse thee in the Lord; fille thou myn entrails in Crist.

Update Bible Version
Yes, brother, let me have joy of you in the Lord: refresh my heart in Christ.

Webster's Bible Translation
Yes, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.

New English Translation
Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

New King James Version
Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.

New Living Translation
Yes, my brother, please do me this favor for the Lord's sake. Give me this encouragement in Christ.

New Life Bible
Yes, Christian brother, I want you to be of use to me as a Christian. Give my heart new joy in Christ.

New Revised Standard
Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Yea! brother, I, would, from thee, have help, in the Lord: give rest unto my tender affections in Christ.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Yea, brother. May I enjoy thee in the Lord! Refresh my bowels in the Lord.

Revised Standard Version
Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Even so brother let me enioye the in the Lorde. Comforte my bowels in the Lorde.

Young's Literal Translation
Yes, brother, may I have profit of thee in the Lord; refresh my bowels in the Lord;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Euen so brother, let me enioye the in the LORDE: refresh thou my hert in the LORDE.

Mace New Testament (1729)
for the Lord's sake, brother, let me have this satisfaction: refresh my heart for his sake.

Simplified Cowboy Version
This is the favor that I ask, brother. Do it for the Lord's sake. Don't let my heart be heavy in this matter.

Contextual Overview

⁸ For this reason, although in Christ I have complete freedom to order you to do what is proper,1 Thessalonians 2:6;">[xr] ⁹ I prefer to make my appeal on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an old man and now a prisoner of Christ Jesus,[xr] ¹⁰ appeal to you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment.1 Corinthians 4:15; Galatians 4:19; Colossians 4:9;">[xr] ¹¹ Once he was useless to you, but now he is very useful[fn] both to you and to me. ¹² I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. ¹³ I wanted to keep him with me so that he could serve me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel.1 Corinthians 16:17; Philippians 2:30;">[xr] ¹⁴ Yet I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be something forced, but voluntary.2 Corinthians 9:7;">[xr] ¹⁵ Perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you could have him back forever,Genesis 45:5,8;">[xr] ¹⁶ no longer as a slave but better than a slave - as a dear brother, especially to me, but even more so to you, both as a person and as a believer.both in the flesh and in the Lord">[fn]Matthew 23:8; Colossians 3:22; 1 Timothy 6:2;">[xr] ¹⁷ So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcomeyou would welcome">[fn] me.2 Corinthians 8:23;">[xr]

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

let me: 2 Corinthians 2:2, 2 Corinthians 7:4-7, 2 Corinthians 7:13, Philippians 2:2, Philippians 4:1, 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 1 Thessalonians 2:20, 1 Thessalonians 3:7-9, Hebrews 13:17, 3 John 1:4

refresh: Philemon 1:7, Philemon 1:12, Philippians 1:8, Philippians 2:1, 1 John 3:17

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 29:17 - joy thy people Proverbs 17:21 - hath Proverbs 23:24 - shall have Proverbs 27:11 - be wise Romans 15:32 - and may 2 Timothy 1:16 - refreshed

Cross-References

Acts 17:25
and he isn't served by hands as if he needed anything. He himself gives everyone life, breath, and everything.Genesis 2:7; Numbers 16:22; Job 1:12:10; 27:3; 33:4; Psalm 50:8; Isaiah 42:5; 57:16; Zechariah 12:1;">[xr]

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord,.... Through the apostle was his spiritual father, having been the instrument of his conversion, yet he calls him his brother, as being a partaker of the same grace, and a minister of the same Gospel; and intimates to him, that should he grant his request, and receive his servant again, it would give him great joy and pleasure, and that not of a carnal, but of a spiritual kind, even joy in the Lord; he should rejoice in the presence of the Lord, and before him, concerning him; he should rejoice in his faith in the Lord, and love for him, and obedience to him; all which would be discovered in such a conduct: the Syriac version renders it, as an assurance to himself,

I shall be refreshed by thee in our Lord; not doubting but that he would gratify him in the thing he asked of him, which would be a refreshment to him; the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "may I enjoy thee in the Lord": meaning not his company and presence, either in this world, or in the world to come; but that he might enjoy or receive the favour from him he had petitioned him for, for the Lord's sake; the Arabic version renders it, as a reason why he should do it, "I have been profitable to thee in the Lord"; confirming what he had said before, that he owed himself to him; he having been useful to him in bringing him to the knowledge of Christ, and faith in him; and the Ethiopic version refers it to a promise, "I will repay in our Lord"; in spiritual things in our Lord, if not in things temporal:

refresh my bowels in the Lord; or "in Christ"; as the Alexandrian copy, the Syriac and Ethiopic versions, read; and by his "bowels", he either means Onesimus, as in Philemon 1:12 who, in a spiritual sense, came forth out of his bowels; or else himself, his soul, his spirit, his inward parts; and so the Ethiopic version renders it, "refresh my soul"; and the sense is, that he desired in the Lord, and for his sake, that he would receive Onesimus again, which would give him an inward pleasure, and refresh his spirit; and indeed he intimates, that nothing could be more cheering and reviving to him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Yea, 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, embracing the heart and the lungs; compare the notes at Isaiah 16:11. The reason is, that in any deep emotion this part of our frame is peculiarly affected, or we feel it there. Compare Robinson’s Lex. on the word σπλάγχνον splangchnon See this illustrated at length in Sir Charles Bell’s” Anatomy of Expression,” p. 85, following Ed. London, 1844. The idea here is, that Paul had such a tender affection for Onesimus as to give him great concern and uneasiness. The word rendered “refresh” - ἀνάπαυσόν anapauson - means “to give rest to, to give repose, to free from sorrow or care;” and the sense is, that by receiving Onesimus, Philemon would cause the deep and anxious feelings of Paul to cease, and he would be calm and happy; compare the notes at Philemon 1:7.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Philemon 1:20. Yea, 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 favour. In the words εγε σου οναιμην, 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; Philemon 1:11.

Refresh my bowels — Gratify the earnest longing of my soul in this. I ask neither thy money nor goods; I ask what will enrich, not impoverish, thee to give.