Philemon 8-10
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
8 Therefore, although I have the full right[a] in Christ to order you to do what is proper, 9 I rather urge you out of love, being as I am, Paul, an old man,[b] and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus.(A) 10 I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment,(B)
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- 8 Full right: often translated “boldness,” the Greek word parrēsia connotes the full franchise of speech, as the right of a citizen to speak before the body politic, claimed by the Athenians as their privilege (Euripides).
- 9 Old man: some editors conjecture that Paul here used a similar Greek word meaning “ambassador” (cf. Eph 6:20). This conjecture heightens the contrast with “prisoner” but is totally without manuscript support.
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