(NCB) Phm 19
I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about the fact that you owe me your very self.
Context:
Paul is telling Philemon that Paul himself will repay the debt that Philemon’s slave, Onesimus, owes him. He is saying this to Philemon so he would take his slave back, after Onesimus has turned to Christ and has become Paul’s pupil.
Now, my question is why does Philemon owe Paul his very self? In some other translation, the word life is used instead of self.
The whole epistle can be found here.
I think it’s thought that Philemon came to faith through Paul (through his teaching, his discipleship, etc) so that in a sense he owes that greatest gift of life to Paul.
Kind of like, “If Onesimus owes you anything, I’ll pay it—but anyway you should be happy to (for)give it to me freely after what I gave to you.”
I wasn’t sure, but would guess it was something along those lines. I guess it isn’t specifically written about in the Bible (Philemon’s saving).