Philemon 1:19

I, Paul, have written ¹  this letter ²  with my own hand: ³  I will repay it. I could also mention that you owe ⁴  me your very self.

I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self.

I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well).

I, Paul, write this in my own handwriting: "I will repay it." And I won’t mention that you owe me your very soul!

This is my personal signature--Paul--and I stand behind it. (I don't need to remind you, do I, that you owe your very life to me?)

I, Paul, writing this myself, say, I will make payment to you: and I do not say to you that you are in debt to me even for your life.

I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self.

I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay––not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides.

I, Paul, have written ¹  this letter ²  with my own hand: ³  I will repay it. I could also mention that you owe ⁴  me your very self.

¹ tn Grk “I wrote” Here ἔγραψα (egraya) is functioning as an epistolary aorist. Paul puts it in the past tense because from Philemon’s perspective when he reads the letter it will, of course, already have been written.

² tn The phrase “this letter” does not appear in the Greek text, but is supplied in the English translation to clarify the meaning.

³ sn With my own hand. Paul may have considered this letter so delicate that he wrote the letter himself as opposed to using an amanuensis or secretary.

⁴ sn The statement you owe me your very self means that Paul was responsible for some sort of blessing in the life of Philemon; though a monetary idea may be in mind, it is perhaps better to understand Paul as referring to the spiritual truth (i.e., the gospel) he had taught Philemon.