Philemon 1:17 (DBY)

Passage

If therefore thou holdest me to be a partner [with thee], receive him as me;

Nearby Context

Philemon 1:15 for perhaps for this reason he has been separated [from thee] for a time, that thou mightest possess him fully for ever;

Philemon 1:16 not any longer as a bondman, but above a bondman, a beloved brother, specially to me, and how much rather to thee, both in [the] flesh and in [the] Lord?

Philemon 1:17 If therefore thou holdest me to be a partner [with thee], receive him as me;

Philemon 1:18 but if he have wronged thee anything or owe anything [to thee], put this to my account.

Philemon 1:19 *I* Paul have written [it] with mine own hand; *I* will repay [it]: that I say not to thee that thou owest even thine own self also to me.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "not any longer as a bondman but..." into verse 18's "but if he have wronged thee anything...", so "therefore" and "thou" 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 "therefore" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.