Philemon 1:13

13 I wanted to keep him with me so that in your place he might help me while I am in prison for the Good News.

Philemon 1:13 Meaning and Commentary

Philemon 1:13

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, ( Ephesians 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.

Philemon 1:13 In-Context

11 In the past he was useless to you, but now he has become useful for both you and me.

12 I am sending him back to you, and with him I am sending my own heart.

13 I wanted to keep him with me so that in your place he might help me while I am in prison for the Good News.

14 But I did not want to do anything without asking you first so that any good you do for me will be because you want to do it, not because I forced you.

15 Maybe Onesimus was separated from you for a short time so you could have him back forever --