Romans 16
16
1I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deaconess at the Cenchreae church. 2Please welcome her in the Lord, as believers should, and help her in whatever way she needs, because she has been a great help to many people, myself included. 3Pass on my greetings to Prisca#16:3. Called Priscilla in Acts 18:2. Also 1 Corinthians 16:19. and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus, 4who risked their lives for me. It's not just me who is very thankful for them, but all the churches of the foreigners too.#16:4. Referring to the non-Jewish churches. 5Please also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home. Pass on my best wishes to my good friend Epaenetus, the first person to follow Christ in the province of Asia. 6Give my greetings to Mary, who worked hard for you, 7and also Andronicus and Junia, from my own country and fellow-prisoners. They are well-known among the apostles, and became followers of Christ before me. 8Give my best to Ampliatus, my good friend in the Lord; 9to Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ; and to my dear friend Stachys. 10My greetings to Apelles, a trustworthy man in Christ. Greetings to Aristobulus's family, 11to my countryman Herodion, and to those from Narcissus' family who belong to the Lord. 12My best wishes to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, hard workers for the Lord, and to my friend Persis, who has done so much in the Lord. 13Give my greetings to Rufus, an exceptional worker,#16:13. Or “one of God's special people.” and his mother—who I count as my mother too. 14Greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the fellow-believers who are with them. 15Best wishes to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympas, and to all the believers with them. 16Greet one another affectionately. All the churches of Christ send their greetings to you.
17Now I'm pleading with you my fellow-believers: watch out for those who cause arguments and confuse people about the teachings you learned. Stay away from them! 18These people are not serving Christ our Lord but their own appetites, and by their smooth-talking and pleasant words they deceive the minds of unsuspecting people.
19Everyone knows how faithful you are. This makes me really happy. However, I want you to be wise about what's good, and innocent of anything bad. 20The God of peace will soon break the power of Satan and make him subject to you. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
21Timothy my co-worker sends his greetings, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow-countrymen. 22Tertius—who wrote down this letter—also sends you greetings in the Lord. 23My host Gaius, and the whole church here, send you greetings. Erastus the city treasurer, sends his best wishes, as does our fellow-believer Quartus. 24#16:24. Early manuscripts do not have verse 24.
25Now to him who can make you strong
Through the good news I share and the message of Jesus Christ,
According to the mystery#16:25. “Mystery,” a term referring to secret truth or a secret plan known only to religious believers. Also verse 26. of truth that has been revealed,
The mystery of truth, hidden for eternity, 26now made visible;
Through the prophets' writings, and
Following the command of the eternal God,
The mystery of truth is made known to everyone everywhere so they can trust and obey him;
27To the one and only wise God,
Through Jesus Christ—
To him be glory for ever. Amen.#16:27. These last verses seem to be a poem or a song, so are set out in this form.
Currently Selected:
Romans 16: FBV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Romans 16
16
Phoebe Commended. 1#Some authorities regard these verses as a later addition to the letter, but in general the evidence favors the view that they were included in the original. Paul endeavors through the long list of greetings (Rom 16:3–16, 21–23) to establish strong personal contact with congregations that he has not personally encountered before. The combination of Jewish and Gentile names dramatically attests the unity in the gospel that transcends previous barriers of nationality, religious ceremony, or racial status. I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is [also] a minister#Minister: in Greek, diakonos; see note on Phil 1:1. of the church at Cenchreae,#Acts 18:18. 2that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the holy ones, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a benefactor to many and to me as well.
Paul’s Greetings. 3Greet Prisca and Aquila,#Prisca and Aquila: presumably the couple mentioned at Acts 18:2; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tm 4:19. my co-workers in Christ Jesus,#Acts 18:2, 18–26; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tm 4:19. 4who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles; 5greet also the church at their house.#The church at their house: i.e., that meets there. Such local assemblies (cf. 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15; Phlm 2) might consist of only one or two dozen Christians each. It is understandable, therefore, that such smaller groups might experience difficulty in relating to one another on certain issues. Firstfruits: cf. Rom 8:23; 11:16; 1 Cor 16:15. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the firstfruits in Asia for Christ.#1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15; Phlm 2 / 1 Cor 16:15. 6Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7Greet Andronicus and Junia,#The name Junia is a woman’s name. One ancient Greek manuscript and a number of ancient versions read the name “Julia.” Most editors have interpreted it as a man’s name, Junias. my relatives and my fellow prisoners; they are prominent among the apostles and they were in Christ before me. 8Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11Greet my relative Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13Greet Rufus,#This Rufus cannot be identified to any degree of certainty with the Rufus of Mk 15:21. chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.#Mk 15:21. 14Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. 15Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the holy ones who are with them. 16Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.#1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Thes 5:26; 1 Pt 5:14.
Against Factions. 17#Paul displays genuine concern for the congregations in Rome by warning them against self-seeking teachers. It would be a great loss, he intimates, if their obedience, which is known to all (cf. Rom 1:8), would be diluted. I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles, in opposition to the teaching that you learned; avoid them.#Mt 7:15; Ti 3:10. 18For such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites, and by fair and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the innocent.#Phil 3:18–19; Col 2:4; 2 Pt 2:3. 19For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to be wise as to what is good, and simple as to what is evil;#1:8; Mt 10:16; 1 Cor 14:20. 20then the God of peace will quickly crush Satan#This verse contains the only mention of Satan in Romans. under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.#15:33; Gn 3:15; Lk 10:19 / 1 Cor 16:23; 1 Thes 5:28; 2 Thes 3:18.
Greetings from Corinth. 21Timothy, my co-worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my relatives.#Acts 16:1–2; 19:22; 20:4; 1 Cor 4:17; 16:10; Phil 2:19–22; Heb 13:23. 22I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23#Acts 19:29; 1 Cor 1:14 / 2 Tm 4:20. Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus,#This Erastus is not necessarily to be identified with the Erastus of Acts 19:22 or of 2 Tm 4:20. the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you. [24]#Some manuscripts add, similarly to Rom 16:20, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
Doxology.#This doxology is assigned variously to the end of Rom 14; 15; 16 in the manuscript tradition. Some manuscripts omit it entirely. Whether written by Paul or not, it forms an admirable conclusion to the letter at this point. [25Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,#1 Cor 2:7; Eph 1:9; 3:3–9; Col 1:26. according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages#Paul’s gospel reveals the mystery kept secret for long ages: justification and salvation through faith, with all the implications for Jews and Gentiles that Paul has developed in the letter. 26but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,#2 Tm 1:10 / Rom 1:5; Eph 3:4–5, 9; 1 Pt 1:20. 27to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.]#11:36; Gal 1:5; Eph 3:20–21; Phil 4:20; 1 Tm 1:17; 2 Tm 4:18; Heb 13:21; 1 Pt 4:11; 2 Pt 3:18; Jude 25; Rev 1:6.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc