Philemon 14-16

World English Bible

¹⁴ But I was willing to do nothing without your consent, that your goodness would not be as of necessity, but of free will. ¹⁵ For perhaps he was therefore separated from you for a while that you would have him forever, ¹⁶ no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much rather to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.