Again we find the standard Pauline greeting, in which he prays that grace and peace may be given them by God our Father (as in Col 1.2). Here Paul adds further and the Lord Jesus Christ (as in Rom 1.7, 1 Cor 1.3, 2 Cor 1.2, Gal 1.3, Phil 1.2). The letter is not a purely personal one (you is plural) even though the request on Onesimus’ behalf is made to the one person, Philemon. The matter, while essentially Philemon’s responsibility, is also of concern to the others.

The third person request May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace must be introduced in a number of languages by a statement suggesting prayer or petition, for example, “I pray that God our father…”

The appositional construction God our Father may be rendered in some languages as a noun followed by a relative clause, for example, “God who is our Father.” In initial translations in a language, it is sometimes important to indicate that “our Father” is to be understood in a figurative sense, for example, “God who is like our father” or “God who is like a father to us.”

In a number of languages, Lord must be identified in relationship to those to whom he is Lord. Therefore, one must say “our Lord” or “he who is Lord over us.”

Give you grace is rendered in a number of languages as “show you kindness” or “show you goodness from his heart,” thus suggesting that the goodness is nothing which is deserved by the recipients but something which comes as the result of unmerited favor.

Peace is not to be understood in this context as absence of war. Here the focus is more upon the psychological and spiritual aspects of peace, sometimes rendered in rather figurative language, for example, “may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ cause you … to sit down in your hearts” or “… to rest your livers.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to Philemon. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .