Greetings and Love Expressed
1 Now I introduce and commend to you our sister (a)Phoebe, a deaconess (servant) of the church at (b)Cenchrea,
2 that you may receive her in the Lord [with love and hospitality], as (c)God’s people ought to receive one another. And that you may help her in whatever matter she may require assistance from you, for she has been a helper of many, including myself.
3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
4 who risked their own necks [endangering their very lives] for my life. To them not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.
5 Also greet the church that meets in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the first convert to Christ from [the west coast province of] Asia [Minor].
6 Greet Mary, who has worked so hard for you.
7 Greet Andronicus and (d)Junias, my kinsmen and [once] my fellow prisoners, who are held in high esteem (e)in the estimation of the apostles, and who were [believers] in Christ before me.
8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.
10 Greet Apelles, the one tested and approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of (f)Aristobulus.
11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.
12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet my beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.
13 Greet Rufus, an eminent and choice man in the Lord, also his mother [who has been] a mother to me as well.
14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.
15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all (g)God’s people who are with them.
16 Greet one another with a (h)holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep your eyes on those who cause dissensions and create obstacles or introduce temptations [for others] to commit sin, [acting in ways] contrary to the doctrine which you have learned. Turn away from them.
18 For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites and base desires. By smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting [the innocent and the naive].
19 For the report of your obedience has reached everyone, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The [wonderful] grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
The [wonderful] grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21 Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.
23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church here, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.
24 (j)[The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.]
25 Now to Him who is able to establish and strengthen you [in the faith] according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery [of the plan of salvation] which has been kept secret for long ages past,
26 but now has been disclosed and through the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all the nations, according to the commandment of the eternal God, leading them to obedience to the faith,
27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forevermore! Amen.
Footnotes:
a.
Romans 16:1: Phoebe (“bright,” “pure”) was chosen by Paul as his emissary to deliver this letter to Rome. She may have held a recognized position within the church.
b.
Romans 16:1: Cenchrea, a few miles east of Corinth, served as Corinth’s port and was probably visited by Paul during both his second and third missionary journeys. This letter was written from Corinth near the end of the third journey.
c.
Romans 16:2: Lit the saints.
d.
Romans 16:7: Or Junia (feminine). There is a higher probability that the name is feminine; no masculine forms found in this or near time periods.
e.
Romans 16:7: The Greek and larger context favor this understanding; Andronicus and Junia are not identified as apostles here.
f.
Romans 16:10: Believed by some scholars to be the brother of Herod Agrippa I and grandson of Herod the Great.
g.
Romans 16:15: Lit the saints.
h.
Romans 16:16: A traditional act of salutation in the early church.
i.
Romans 16:22: Paul’s helper, who wrote this letter as Paul dictated it, inserted a personal greeting, undoubtedly with Paul’s permission.
j.
Romans 16:24: Early mss do not contain this verse; it was taken from the Latin Vulgate.