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.
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Romans 16: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Romans 16
16
Paul Has Some Final Things to Say
1I want you to know that you can trust our sister in Christ, Phoebe. She is a special servant of the church in Cenchrea. 2I ask you to accept her in the Lord. Accept her the way God’s people should. Help her with anything she needs from you. She has helped me very much, and she has helped many others too.
3Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, who have worked together with me for Christ Jesus. 4They risked their own lives to save mine. I am thankful to them, and all the non-Jewish churches are thankful to them.
5Also, give greetings to the church that meets in their house.
Give greetings to my dear friend Epaenetus. He was the first person to follow Christ in Asia.
6Greetings also to Mary. She worked very hard for you.
7And greet Andronicus and Junia. They are my relatives, and they were in prison with me. They were followers of Christ before I was. And they are some of the most important of the ones Christ sent out to do his work.#16:7 most important … work Literally, “important among (or to) the apostles.”
8Give my greetings to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord, 9and to Urbanus. He has worked together with me for Christ.
Give greetings also to my dear friend Stachys 10and to Apelles, who has proved himself to be a true follower of Christ.
Give greetings to everyone in the family of Aristobulus 11and to Herodion, my relative.
Greetings to all those in the family of Narcissus who belong to the Lord 12and to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, women who work very hard for the Lord.
Greetings to my dear friend Persis. She has also worked very hard for the Lord.
13Greetings also to Rufus, one of the Lord’s chosen people, and to his mother, who has been a mother to me too.
14Give my greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the brothers in Christ who are with them.
15Give greetings to Philologus and Julia, to Nereus and his sister, to Olympas, and to all of God’s people with them.
16Give each other the special greeting of God’s people.#16:16 the special greeting of God’s people Literally, “a holy kiss.”
All the churches that belong to Christ send their greetings to you.
17Brothers and sisters, I want you to be very careful of those who cause arguments and hurt people’s faith by teaching things that are against what you learned. Stay away from them. 18People like that are not serving our Lord Christ. They are only pleasing themselves. They use fancy talk and say nice things to fool those who don’t know about evil. 19Everyone has heard that you do what you were taught, and I am very happy about that. But I want you to be wise about what is good and to know nothing about what is evil.
20The God who brings peace will soon defeat Satan and give you power over him.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21Timothy, a worker together with me, sends you his greetings. Also Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater (these are my relatives) send their greetings.
22I am Tertius, the one writing this letter for Paul. I send you my own greetings as one who belongs to the Lord.
23Gaius is letting me and the whole church here use his home. He sends his greetings to you. Erastus and our brother Quartus also send their greetings. Erastus is the city treasurer here. 24#16:24 Some Greek copies add verse 24: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Those copies end the letter with verse 24 and either do not have verses 25-27 or place them at the end of chapter 14.
25Praise God! He is the one who can make you strong in faith. He can use the Good News that I teach to make you strong. It is the message about Jesus Christ that I tell people. That message is the secret truth that was hidden for ages and ages but has been made known. 26It has now been shown to us. It was made known by what the prophets wrote, as God commanded. And it has now been made known to all people so that they can believe and obey God, who lives forever. 27Glory forever to the only wise God through Jesus Christ. Amen.
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