Bible in Basic English
"Whom I have sent back to you, him who is my very heart:"
— Philemon 1:12, Bible in Basic English
Still, because of love, in place of an order, I make a request to you, I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner of Christ Jesus:
My request is for my child Onesimus, the child of my chains,
Who in the past was of no profit to you, but now is of profit to you and to me:
Whom I have sent back to you, him who is my very heart:
Though my desire was to keep him with me, to be my servant in the chains of the good news, in your place:
But without your approval I would do nothing; so that your good works might not be forced, but done freely from your heart.
For it is possible that for this reason he was parted from you for a time, so that you might have him for ever;