Philemon 1:12 (DBY)

Passage

whom I have sent back to thee: [but do *thou* receive] him, that is, *my* bowels:

Nearby Context

Philemon 1:10 I exhort thee for *my* child, whom I have begotten in [my] bonds, Onesimus,

Philemon 1:11 once unserviceable to thee, but now serviceable to thee and to me:

Philemon 1:12 whom I have sent back to thee: [but do *thou* receive] him, that is, *my* bowels:

Philemon 1:13 whom *I* was desirous of keeping with myself, that for thee he might minister to me in the bonds of the glad tidings;

Philemon 1:14 but I have wished to do nothing without thy mind, that thy good might not be as of necessity but of willingness:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sent", "back", "thee", "thou", "receive", and "bowels". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sent" and "back", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "once unserviceable to thee but now serviceable..." into verse 13's "whom I was desirous of keeping with...", so "sent" and "back" belong inside that flow. In Philemon context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sent" and "back" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.