Philemon 1:18

Philemon 1:18. And if he hath wronged thee. The slave setting forth on such a long journey as that from Colossæ to Rome must have needed no small amount of money, and it may well be that Onesimus had carried off in his flight money of his master's as provision for his journey. The offence of the unjust steward, who had appropriated his master's income (Luke 16:8) is described by the same word. It seems used euphemistically when the mention of actual ‘theft' is not convenient.

or oweth thee aught. If we suppose some such false entries in the slave's accounts as are spoken of in St. Luke's narrative, we can understand that St. Paul, out of tenderness to Onesimus, might speak of the defalcation, which perhaps had been discovered after his flight, as a debt due from the slave to the master.

put that on mine account. St. Paul would scarcely have said this if there bad been no business concerns between him and Philemon. It is not as if he had said ‘hold me responsible.' The word in the original refers to an actual reckoning, and the next verse bears out that sense.