Philemon 1:11
“Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Paul plays on Onesimus's name, noting that the once-useless servant has become genuinely useful to both Philemon and Paul.
What Does Philemon 1:11 Mean?
Paul continues to commend Onesimus with a gentle wordplay. The name Onesimus means useful or profitable, yet in time past he had proven unprofitable to his master. Now, changed by Christ, he has become truly profitable to both Philemon and Paul.
The transformation is the point. Conversion does not merely forgive the past; it makes a person new and genuinely useful in ways they never were before. What was once a disappointment has become a blessing. The verse quietly proclaims the gospel's power to redeem not only a person's standing before God but the whole shape and worth of their life, making them a gift to others.
In the Original Language
Onesimos (Ὀνήσιμος), the name — it means "useful" or "profitable," which is the play Paul makes on once-unprofitable, now-profitable.