Bible Strands
Philemon 1:9
I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul addresses Philemon while physically confined and advanced in age, choosing to make a voluntary request rather than issue a command after noting his apostolic authority in the preceding verse.
The words — Paul employs παρακαλῶ (parakalō), literally "I exhort" or "I appeal," and ἀγάπην (agapēn), literally "love," to structure his appeal as a deliberate choice grounded in relational commitment rather than institutional power.
The thread — This structural pattern of framing a moral appeal through imprisonment and mercy recurs in Romans 12:1, where Paul urges action on account of God’s mercy, and Ephesians 4:1, where he urges conduct as a prisoner in the Lord.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to respond to a request issued voluntarily out of love by a speaker who explicitly acknowledges his own physical aging and spiritual captivity, removing any claim to coercive authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
Cross-references
- Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
- 2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.
- Ephesians 4:1 As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:
- Ephesians 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles...
- Philemon 1:1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker,
- Psalms 71:9 Do not discard me in my old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails.
- Psalms 71:18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.
- Proverbs 16:31 Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.
- Isaiah 46:4 Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.
- 2 Corinthians 6:1 As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.