In Paul’s epistle to Philemon, he urges his friend to forgive and welcome home the runaway slave Onesimus. What verb would you use to make such a request, balancing the need to emphasize the importance of your request with the desire to show proper respect for your audience? “I command you” sounds too heavy-handed. “I beg you” seems rather desperate. “I ask you” may not adequately convey your depth of feeling, how much the request means to you.
Paul offers two verbs: one that he has decided not to use, followed by the one that he has chosen:
Though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient,
Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee.
Philemon 1:8-9, italics added
To “enjoin” means literally to attach an obligation to someone. In modern English, it is used mostly in a legal context, to either require an action or to prohibit one. The Greek word here is epitassó (ἐπιτάσσω), to order, to command, or to demand.
“Beseech,” on the other hand, means to ask someone urgently to do something. Like the words “beg” and “plead,” it conveys humility and respect, but unlike those words, it doesn’t convey desperation. It is a fervent and respectful entreaty.
We don’t use the word “beseech” much in modern English. Most modern translations of the Bible use the word “appeal” in this verse, which is not a bad substitute, especially since the Greek word is the verb form of the word for “advocate.” Parakaleó (παρακαλέω) means literally to call from close beside. A paraklétos (παράκλητος) is the person who stands beside us, making the request. That’s the word John uses when he says that Jesus is our “advocate with the Father” (1 John 2:1).
It’s worth noting that the word “convenient” in the passage above doesn’t mean “easy” or “effortless.” It means “appropriate.” Paul is appealing to Philemon’s conscience, and asking him to do what is right.
Book of Mormon prophets use the word beseech on several occasions:
- Jacob beseeches us, his future readers, to “repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you” (Jacob 6:5).
- Amulek beseeches the Zoramites not to “procrastinate the day of [their] repentance” (Alma 34:33).
- Alma beseeches his son Helaman to listen to him and learn from him. (See Alma 36:3.)
- Mormon beseeches a congregation to “search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil” (Moroni 7:19).
Today I will heed the call of prophets, respectfully yet urgently asking me to do what is right. I will also strive to achieve that balance in my interactions with others, conveying the importance of my requests while respecting the agency of others.