For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.”
for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!
for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king!
so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.”
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—
having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.
Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”
Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done.
I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.
So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel,
and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.
So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.