^{10 Ref} I beg you for my child, whom I have become the father of in my chains, Onesimus,{Onesimus means "useful."}

^{11 Ref} who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me.

^{12 Ref} I am sending him back. Therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,

^{13 Ref} whom I desired to keep with me, that on your behalf he might serve me in my chains for the Gospel.

^{14 Ref} But I was willing to do nothing without your consent, that your goodness would not be as of necessity, but of free will.

^{15 Ref} For perhaps he was therefore separated from you for a while, that you would have him forever,

^{16 Ref} no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much rather to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.