5. hearing of thy love, and of the faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints;
6. that the fellowship of thy faith may become effectual, in the knowledge of every good thing which is in you, unto Christ.
7. For I had much joy and comfort in thy love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through thee, brother.
8. Wherefore, though I have all boldness in Christ to enjoin thee that which is befitting,
9. yet for love’s sake I rather beseech, being such a one as Paul the aged, and now a prisoner also of Christ Jesus:
10. I beseech thee for my child, whom I have begotten in my bonds, Onesimus,
11. who once was unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable to thee and to me:
12. whom I have sent back to thee in his own person, that is, my very heart:
13. whom I would fain have kept with me, that in thy behalf he might minister unto me in the bonds of the gospel:
14. but without thy mind I would do nothing; that thy goodness should not be as of necessity, but of free will.
15. For perhaps he was therefore parted from thee for a season, that thou shouldest have him for ever;