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Read the Bible
The NET Bible®
Philemon 1:11
Bible Study Resources
Dictionaries:
- TheDevotionals:
- EveryParallel Translations
Once he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.
Which in time past was to thee vnprofitable: but now profitable to thee and to me:
Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:
(Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)
who previously was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.
In the past he was useless to you, but now he has become useful for both you and me.
who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.
who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.
Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
Before this, he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.
His name means "useful," and although he was once useless to you, he has now become most useful — not only to you but also to me;
once unserviceable to thee, but now serviceable to thee and to me:
In the past he was useless to you. But now he has become useful for both you and me.
Which in times past was to thee vnprofitable, but nowe profitable both to thee and to me,
But of whom in the past you could not make use, but now he is very useful both to you and to me.
At one time he was of no use to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me.
Once he was useless to you, but now he is useful to you and to me,
the one once worthless to you, but now useful to you and to me; whom I sent back to you.
Once he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you as well as to me.
who once was unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable to thee and to me:
Who in the past was of no profit to you, but now is of profit to you and to me:
who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me;
Once he was useless to you, but now he is very useful[fn] both to you and to me.
who once was of no use to thee, but (who will) now to thee, as also to me, be greatly useful;
from whom formerly thou hadst no profit, but now very profitable will he be both to thee and to me; and whom I have sent to thee.
Which in tyme passed, was to thee vnprofitable, but nowe profitable to thee and to me.
who was aforetime unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable to thee and to me:
who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me;
but now profitable to thee and me, Whom I have sent again:
Formerly he was useless to you, but now--true to his name--he is of great use to you and to me.
which sumtyme was vnprofitable to thee, but now profitable bothe to thee and to me; whom Y sente ayen to thee.
who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable both to you and to me:
Who in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:
who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.
Onesimus hasn't been of much use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us.
At one time he was of no use to you. But now he is of use to you and to me.
Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me.
Him who, at one time, was, unto thee, unserviceable, but, now, unto thee and unto me, serviceable;
Who hath been heretofore unprofitable to thee but now is profitable both to me and thee:
(Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)
which in tyme passed was to the vnproffetable: but now proffetable bothe to the and also to me
who once was to thee unprofitable, and now is profitable to me and to thee,
which in tyme past was to the vnprofitable, but now profitable both to the and me.
'tis true he was formerly useless to you, but now he will be useful to us both:
Onesimus has been of little value to you in the past, but now he has become something great for the both of us.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
unprofitable: Job 30:1, Job 30:2, Matthew 25:30, Luke 17:10, Romans 3:12, 1 Peter 2:10
profitable: Luke 15:24, Luke 15:32, 2 Timothy 4:11
Reciprocal: Genesis 49:8 - thy hand Jeremiah 13:7 - it was Luke 6:42 - cast Titus 3:8 - good
Cross-References
God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear." It was so.
There was evening, and there was morning, a third day.
God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs to indicate seasons and days and years,
God made two great lights—the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also.
God placed the lights in the expanse of the sky to shine on the earth,
God said, "Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."
Then God said, "I now give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
Now no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.
The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.)
Then the Lord God commanded the man, "You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard,
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Which in time past was to thee unprofitable,.... Yea, injurious and hurtful; one that was an eye servant, that loitered away his time, and set an ill example to fellow servants; and not only so, but embezzled his master's goods, and robbed him, and run away from him. So every man, in his state of unregeneracy, is an unprofitable man, Romans 3:12 unprofitable to God, to men, and to themselves; their sins will not profit them, though they may promise them liberty and pleasure; nor will their riches, should they lose their own souls: nor their own righteousness, in the business of justification and salvation; nor even an outward profession of religion: yea, they are not only said to be unprofitable, but are represented as good for nothing; hence they are compared to dishonourable and unserviceable vessels; to briers and thorns, and the earth which brings them; to the salt that has lost its savour, and is fit neither for the land, nor for the dunghill; to rotten figs, to chaff, and dross of metals: yea, they are hurtful and injurious to themselves, on whom they bring ruin and destruction; to others, to wicked men, whom they more and more corrupt, and harden in sin; and to good men, whom they grieve; and also to the interest and glory of God, whose laws they transgress, and against whom they sin, affront his justice, and provoke the eyes of his glory.
But now profitable to thee and to me; that is, he was now likely to be so, to be profitable to Philemon, as a servant, and to the apostle as a ministering brother. Some think there is in this an allusion to his name Onesimus, which signifies "profitable"; before he did not answer to his name, but now he was a true Onesimus, really a profitable person; grace, of an unprofitable man, makes a profitable one. Such an one is profitable to himself; his godliness is gain unto him, it having both the promise of this life, and of that which is to come; and he is profitable to others, if he has gifts qualifying him for the public work of the ministry, as Onesimus seems to have had; then he is made and becomes very useful to many for conviction, conversion, comfort, and edification; and if only a private believer, he is often profitable to others, by relating the work of God upon his soul; he is serviceable to the interest of Christ, for the support of the ministry, and supply of the poor; he is useful by his good examples, and prayers, in the neighbourhood, town, city, or nation, in which he dwells. This argument from profit, the apostle knew would be an engaging one.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Which in time past was to thee unprofitable - Either because he was indolent; because he had wronged him (compare the notes at Philemon 1:18), or because he had run away from him. It is possible that there may be an allusion here to the meaning of the name “Onesimus,” which denotes “profitable” (from ὀνίνημι oninēmi, future ὀνήσω onēsō, to be useful, to be profitable, to help), and that Paul means to say that he had hitherto not well answered to the meaning of his own name, but that now he would be found to do so.
But now profitable to thee - The Greek here is εὔχρηστον euchrēston, but the meaning is about the same as that of the word Onesimus. It denotes very useful. In 2 Timothy 2:21, it is rendered “meet for use;” in 2 Timothy 4:11, and here, profitable. It does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament.
And to me - Paul had doubtless found him useful to him as Christian brother in his bonds, and it is easy to conceive that, in his circumstances, he would greatly desire to retain him with him.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Philemon 1:11. Was to thee unprofitable — Alluding to the meaning of Onesimus's name, as has been already noted; though the apostle uses a different Greek word to express the same idea.
