Philemon 1:13 (DRB)

Passage

Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered to me in the bands of the gospel.

Nearby Context

Philemon 1:11 Who hath been heretofore unprofitable to thee but now is profitable both to me and thee:

Philemon 1:12 Whom I have sent back to thee. And do thou receive him as my own bowels.

Philemon 1:13 Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered to me in the bands of the gospel.

Philemon 1:14 But without thy counsel I would do nothing: that thy good deed might not be as it were of necessity, but voluntary.

Philemon 1:15 For perhaps he therefore departed for a season from thee that thou mightest receive him again for ever:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "retained", "stead", "might", "ministered", "bands", and "gospel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "retained" and "stead", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Whom I have sent back to thee..." into verse 14's "But without thy counsel I would do...", so "retained" and "stead" 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 "retained" and "stead" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.