¹⁶ And when we came into Rome, ^(A)Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

³ The next day we put in at Sidon. And ^(A)Julius ^(B)treated Paul kindly and ^(C)gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for.

²³ Then he gave orders to the centurion that he ^(A)should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that ^(B)none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.

⁷ To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

^(A)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Longing to Go to Rome

⁸ First, ^(B)I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, ^(C)because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. ^9 (D)For God is my witness, ^(E)whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, ^(F)that without ceasing I mention you ¹⁰ always in my prayers, asking that somehow ^(G)by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. ¹¹ For ^(H)I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— ¹² that is, that we may be mutually encouraged ^(I)by each other's faith, both yours and mine. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,^[a] that ^(J)I have often intended to come to you (but ^(K)thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some ^(L)harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. ^14 (M)I am under obligation both to Greeks and to ^(N)barbarians,^[b] both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵ So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

³⁰ He lived there two whole years at his own expense,^[a] and ^(A)welcomed all who came to him, ^31 (B)proclaiming ^(C)the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ ^(D)with all boldness and ^(E)without hindrance.

¹⁸ And the woman that you saw is ^(A)the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”

^9 (A)This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated;

Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

²² This is the reason why ^(A)I have so often been hindered from coming to you. ²³ But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and ^(B)since I have longed for many years to come to you, ²⁴ I hope to see you in passing as I go ^(C)to Spain, and ^(D)to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. ²⁵ At present, however, ^(E)I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. ²⁶ For ^(F)Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. ²⁷ For they were pleased to do it, and indeed ^(G)they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. ²⁸ When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,^[a] I will leave ^(H)for Spain by way of you. ²⁹ I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing^[b] of Christ.

⁴³ But the centurion, ^(A)wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land,