Three times Paul identifies himself as the author of this letter. Evidently Timothy was with him and probably wrote the words down as Paul said them. Paul greets others who meet for church at Philemon's house.
All instances of "I," "me," and "my" refer to Paul. Philemon is the main person to whom this letter is written. All instances of "you" and "your" refer to him and are singular unless otherwise noted. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-you]])
Your language may have a particular way of introducing the authors of a letter. AT: "I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother, are writing this letter to Philemon" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-exclusive]])
Here "sister" means she was a believer, and not a relative. AT: "Apphia our fellow believer" or "Apphia our spiritual sister" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])
Paul speaks here of Archippus as if they were both soldiers in an army. He means that Archippus works hard, as Paul himself works hard, to spread the gospel. AT: "our fellow spiritual warrior" or "who also fights the spiritual battle with us" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
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