The Rheims New Testament (1582) — Philemon

Saint Paul's Epistle to Philemon, as printed in the Rheims New Testament of 1582, the English Catholic translation made from the Latin Vulgate at the English College, then in exile at Rheims, chiefly by Gregory Martin. In the transcription this short Epistle is printed together with its argument under one heading. The page gives the single chapter with its printed summary, every verse in the original spelling, the marginal notes (cross-references, the days on which passages are read, and other readings), and the annotations that follow it.

Chapter 1

Hearing of Philémons vertue, vvho vvas a Coloſsian, he vvriteth a familiar letter from Rome (being priſoner there) about his fugitiue ſeruant Oneſimus: not doubting but that he might commaund him, yet rather requeſting that he vvil forgiue him, yea and receiue him as he vvould Paul him ſelf, vvho alſo hopeth to come vnto him.

1 PAVL the priſoner of Chriſt IESVS, and brother Timothee: to Philémon the beloued and our coadiutor,

2 & to Appia our deereſt ſiſter, & to Archippus our felovv-ſouldiar and to the church vvhich is in thy houſe.

3 Grace to you and peace from God our father, and our Lord IESVS Chriſt.

4 I giue thankes to my God, alvvaies making a memorie of thee in my praiers,

5 hearing thy charitie and faith vvhich thou haſt in our Lord IESVS, and ″ tovvard al the ſainctes:

6 that the communication of thy faith may be made euident in the agnition of al good that is in you in Chriſt IESVS.

7 For I haue had great ioy and conſolation in thy charitie, becauſe the bovvels of the ſainctes haue reſted by thee brother.

8 For the vvhich thing hauing great cōfidence in Chriſt IESVS to commaund thee that vvhich pertaineth to the purpoſe:

9 for charitie rather I beſeeche, vvhereas thou art ſuch an one, as Paul being old and novv priſoner alſo of IESVS Chriſt.

10 I beſeeche thee for my ſonne vvhom I haue begotten in handes, * Oneſimus,

11 vvho hath been ſometime vnprofitable to thee, but novv profitable both to me & thee,

12 vvhom I haue ſent backe to thee. And do thou receiue him as mine ovvne bovvels.

13 vvhom I would haue reteined vvith me, that for thee he might miniſter to me in the bandes of the Goſpel:

14 but vvithout thy counſel I vvould doe nothing: that thy good might be not as it vvere of neceſſitie, but voluntarie.

15 For perhaps therfore he departed for a ſeaſon from thee, that thou mighteſt take him againe for euer.

16 novv not as a ſeruant, but for a ſeruant, a moſt deere brother, eſpecially to me, but hovv much more to thee both in the fleſh and in our Lord?

17 If therfore thou take me for thy fellovv: receiue him as my ſelf.

18 And if he hath hurt thee any thing or is in thy dette, that impute to me.

19 I Paul haue vvritten vvith mine ovvne hand: I vvil repay it: not to ſay to thee, that thou ovveſt me thine ovvne ſelf alſo.

20 Yea brother. God graunt I may enioy thee in our Lord. Refreſh my bovvels in our Lord.

21 Truſting in thy obedience I haue vvritten to thee, knovving that thou vvilt doe aboue that alſo vvhich I do ſay.

22 And withal prouide me alſo a lodging. for I hope by your praiers that I ſhal be giuen to you.

23 There ſalute thee Epaphras my fellovv-priſoner in Chriſt IESVS,

24 Marke, Ariſtarchus, Demas and Luke my coadiutors.

25 The grace of our Lord IESVS Chriſt be with your ſpirit. Amen,

Marginal notes to Chapter 1

• v. 5 ⸬ ; Faith and charitie commēded alwais together, both neceſſarie to make a complete Chriſtiā man, and to iuſtification & ſaluation.
• v. 7 ⸬ ; The dueties of charitie and mercie done to Chriſtes priſoners, are exceding acceptable to God and al good men.
• v. 10 Col. 4, 9.
• v. 12 ⸬ ; Al Spiritual men ought to be exceding propenſe and ready to procure mens pardon, and recōciliation to al penitents.
• v. 19 ⸬ ; The great debt & duetie that vve owe to ſuch as be our ſpiritual parents in Chriſt.
• v. 20 ᶜ ⟨non-Latin script⟩

Annotations to Chapter 1

ANNOT.

5. Tovvard al the ſainctes.] The Apoſtle ſticketh not to ſay, Charitie and faith in Chriſt and al his Saincts, vvhich our captious Aduerſaries count in Catholike mens ſpeaches and vvritings, very abſurd, feining that in al ſuch vve make no difference betvvixt the loue vve beare to Chriſt, and the loue vve owe to our neighbours: betvvixt the truſt or beleefe vve haue in God, and that vvhich vve haue in his holy Saincts. Malice and contention doth ſo blinde al Heretikes. [Margin: Faith and beleefe in Saincts.]

Colophon

Printed edition: The Nevv Testament of Iesus Christ, translated faithfully into English, out of the authentical Latin … in the English College of Rhemes (Rhemes: Iohn Fogny, 1582; STC 2884, ESTC S102491), the Catholic New Testament translated from the Latin Vulgate chiefly by Gregory Martin. Copy transcribed: the Eton College Library copy, as filmed for Early English Books Online (image set 2646).

Transcription: Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership (EEBO-TCP), Phase I text A16049 (keyed 2005–06, proofread and released 2006), placed in the public domain under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal. Converted for the Good Works Library in October 2026.

What was done: the spelling, punctuation and capitals of the transcription are kept exactly, including u/v, i/j, "vv" for w, long s (ſ), the abbreviation stroke (as in "vpō") and the edition's own marks (″ for an annotated word, ⸬ and * for marginal references, ⊢ for the end of a liturgical Gospel or Epistle; ▪ is the transcribers' sign for a punctuation mark they could not identify). Removed as apparatus: the TEI markup, page breaks, line-end hyphenation, and the small cross ✝ that the edition sets at the beginning of each verse beside the verse number in the margin; the number is given here instead. Marginal notes are gathered after each chapter, keyed to their verse; the annotations follow as the edition prints them. Words the transcribers could not read are shown as ⟨illegible⟩; words printed in Greek or other non-Latin letters, which the transcription did not key, are shown as ⟨non-Latin script⟩. No gap has been filled or guessed.

The book's heading in the edition reads: "THE EPISTLE OF PAVL TO PHILEMON. THE ARGVMENT." The page title gives it in ordinary capitals and lower case, without other change.

On this page no place is marked ⟨illegible⟩ and 1 word or phrase in Greek or other non-Latin letters is marked ⟨non-Latin script⟩.

This is an archival transcription of a historic English Bible. It is not a Good Works Translation.

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