Aristarchus, my fellow-prisoner, sends you his greetings, along with Barnabas' cousin [John] Mark. [See Acts 12:12]. (You have received instructions to welcome Mark if he comes to you).

Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in [the service of] Christ sends you his greetings,

[This letter is from] Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, [and is being sent] to Philemon our dearly loved [brother] and fellow-worker,

Now at the [Passover] Festival, the governor was accustomed to releasing whatever prisoner the crowd wanted.

There was at that time in custody a notorious prisoner named Barabbas.

Now at the Passover Festival Pilate customarily released whatever prisoner the people asked him to.

One prisoner, named Barabbas, was kept chained up in prison along with men who had committed murder during a rebellion.

The crowd [then] went to Pilate and asked him to do what he was accustomed to doing for them [i.e., release a prisoner of their choosing during the Passover Festival].

For Pilate was required to release one prisoner to the people at the [Passover] Festival}}.

But since you [Jews] have a custom that I should release to you one [prisoner] during the Passover Festival, do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"

So, the officer took Paul's nephew to the commander and said, "Paul, the prisoner, called for me and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you."

For it does not seem reasonable for me to send a prisoner [to Rome] without indicating what the [formal] charges are against him."

And it happened after three days that Paul called together those who were the leading Jews, and when they assembled he said to them, "Brothers, although I had done nothing against the [Jewish] people or the customs of our forefathers, yet I was made a prisoner at Jerusalem, being placed in the custody of the Romans [while there].

This is the reason that I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, [pray for you. See 3:14-19].

[Note: Paul here digresses from his prayer, begun in 1:15-16, to explain the circumstances of his being a prisoner on behalf of these Gentiles]. [I assume] you have heard about my commission [to minister] to you, which was given to me by God's unearned favor.

I urge you, therefore, as a prisoner of the Lord, to live in a way that measures up to [the standard required by] God when He called you.

So, do not be ashamed to testify for our Lord, or ashamed of [being associated with] me, His prisoner, but [be willing to] suffer hardship with me for the sake of the Gospel, relying on God's power [to sustain you].

yet out of [mutual] love, I appeal to you [to do what I ask]. For I Paul, am an old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus. [Note: Most calculations suggest that Paul was approximately 60 years old, which was considered a relatively advanced age in that day].

My fellow-worker Timothy sends his greetings to you, and so do my fellow-Jews Lucius, Jason and Sosipater. [See verse 7].

But I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, and your messenger [to me] and minister to my needs.

And a white robe was given to each one of them, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the [full] number of their fellow servants and their brothers would be killed like they were.

Therefore, we should show hospitality to such men, so that we can be fellow-workers [with them] in [the cause of] the truth.

But that [same] servant went out and found one of his fellow-servants who owed him a small sum of money [Note: The amount was about days of a farm laborer's pay or about $7,000 in 1994]. He grabbed him by the throat, saying, 'Pay [me] what you owe.'

His fellow-servant fell [on the ground before him] and begged him, saying, '[Please] be patient with me and I will repay you [all I owe you].'

When his fellow-servants saw what he had done, they were very upset and went and told their master everything that had happened.

Should you not also have had pity on your fellow-servant just as I pitied you?'

and then becomes physically abusive to his fellow-slaves, and eats and drinks [at parties] with drunkards,

Then Thomas, which means, "The Twin," said to his fellow disciples, "Let us go too, so we can die with Him." [i.e., by being stoned to death with Jesus. See 11:8].

Then I fell down in front of him to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do that; I am [only] a fellow-servant with you and with your brothers who hold onto the testimony about Jesus. You should worship God. For the testimony about Jesus is the spirit [i.e., the purpose, or source] of prophecy."

But he said to me, "Do not do that; I am [only] a fellow-servant with you and with your brothers, the prophets, and with those who obey the words of this book. You should worship God."

The next day Moses came across a couple of his relatives who were fighting and tried to settle their dispute by saying, 'Brothers, since you are fellow-countrymen, why are you hurting each other?'

[In the meantime] they brought the young fellow [back upstairs] alive, and were greatly comforted.

The head priest can also verify all this, and so can the body of [Jewish] elders. They furnished me with letters to our fellow-Jews in Damascus, to which I also traveled to bring people back here to Jerusalem, bound in chains to be punished.

And if we are [His] children, then we have an inheritance from God [i.e., blessings here and hereafter] and are fellow-sharers with Christ [of such blessings], providing we [are willing to] suffer with Him, so we can also be honored with Him [i.e., in the future life. See verses 18-25].

Brothers, my heart's desire and [fervent] request to God is for the salvation of my fellow-Jews. [See 9:3-4].

in hope that somehow I might stir up jealousy among my fellow-Jews, and thereby save some of them.

I send greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow-workers in [the service of] Christ Jesus.

Greetings to Andronicus and Junias, my fellow-Jews [or possibly actual relatives] who were in prison with me. These [men] are considered outstanding by the apostles, and were Christians before I was [converted].

Greetings to Urbanus, our fellow-worker in [the service of] Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.

Greetings to Herodion, my fellow-Jew. [See verse 7]. Greetings to those members of the family of Narcissus who are Christians.

For we are all fellow-workers in God's service; you people are God's farm land; [you are] God's building.

The churches in Asia send you their greetings [Note: This was the westernmost province in present-day Turkey]. Aquila and Prisca [Note: This married couple were close friends and fellow-tentmakers of Paul], along with the church that meets in their house, send you their warm greetings in [fellowship with] Christ.

As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow-worker on your behalf. As for our brothers [i.e., those who will accompany him], they are the messengers of the churches and an honor to Christ.

So then, you [Gentiles] are no longer foreigners and aliens [i.e., to God's promises. See verse 12], but you are fellow-citizens with the saints [i.e., God's holy people], and are part of God's family.

This secret plan is that the Gentiles [now] share in the inheritance along with us [Jews], and are fellow-members of the body [i.e., the church], and that they share, along with us [Jews], in the promise of the Gospel, in [fellowship with] Christ Jesus.

For I do not have anyone else [i.e., as a fellow-worker] who thinks the same way I do, and who will genuinely care for your [spiritual and material] needs.

Yes, and I am asking you also, [my] faithful partner [Note: This person is unknown, but may have been one of Paul's preacher companions], help those women, for they have worked hard with me in [spreading] the Gospel, along with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life. [See Rev. 3:5; Heb. 12:23].

You learned [this truth] from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow-slave, who is a faithful minister of Christ [to you] on our behalf.

Tychicus will tell you all about my affairs. [Note: This man probably delivered this letter as well as the one to the Ephesians. See Eph. 6:21]. He is our dearly loved brother and faithful minister and fellow-slave in [the service of] the Lord.

[He is coming], together with Onesimus our faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. [Note: This could mean either "from your town" or, "a fellow-Christian"]. They will tell you about everything that is happening here.

Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends his greetings. These men are the only Jews among my fellow-workers for God's kingdom; they have proved to be an encouragement to me.

So, when we could not stand it any longer [Note: Paul's concern for the spiritual well-being of the Thessalonian Christians became unbearable], we [i.e., I, See verse 5] thought it best to be left behind, alone, at Athens [Note: Paul was willing to labor alone at Athens, so he could send his fellow-workers to minister to others. See Acts 17],

and so we [i.e., I] sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow-worker in [the ministry of] the Gospel, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,

Luke is the only one [of my fellow-workers still] with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you for he [will be] helpful to me in [my] ministry.

All those who are with me send you their greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith [i.e., our fellow Christians]. May God's unearned favor be with all of you.

and to Apphia our sister [Note: This was probably Philemon's wife], and to Archippus our fellow-soldier [Note: This was probably Philemon's preacher son. See Col. 4:17] and to the church [that meets] in your house.

along with [John] Mark [Note: This shows that Mark was now back in the good graces of Paul. See Acts 15:36-40], Aristarchus, Demas [Note: This man later deserted Paul. See II Tim. 4:10] and Luke, who are [also] my fellow-workers. [Note: These men, unlike Epaphras who was imprisoned with Paul, were free to minister for Christ there in Rome].