Romans 16
New King James Version
Sister Phoebe Commended
16 I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in (A)Cenchrea, 2 (B)that you may receive her in the Lord (C)in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also.
Greeting Roman Saints
3 Greet (D)Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 5 Likewise greet (E)the church that is in their house.
Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is (F)the firstfruits of [a]Achaia to Christ. 6 Greet Mary, who labored much for us. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the (G)apostles, who also (H)were in Christ before me.
8 Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved. 10 Greet Apelles, approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my [b]countryman. Greet those who are of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, who have labored in the Lord. Greet the beloved Persis, who labored much in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, (I)chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.
16 (J)Greet one another with a holy kiss. [c]The churches of Christ greet you.
Avoid Divisive Persons
17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those (K)who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and (L)avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord [d]Jesus Christ, but (M)their own belly, and (N)by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For (O)your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be (P)wise in what is good, and [e]simple concerning evil. 20 And (Q)the God of peace (R)will crush Satan under your feet shortly.
(S)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Greetings from Paul’s Friends
21 (T)Timothy, my fellow worker, and (U)Lucius, (V)Jason, and (W)Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you.
22 I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord.
23 (X)Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. (Y)Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, a brother. 24 (Z)The[f] grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Benediction
25 [g]Now (AA)to Him who is able to establish you (AB)according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, (AC)according to the revelation of the mystery (AD)kept secret since the world began 26 but (AE)now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for (AF)obedience to the faith— 27 to (AG)God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
Footnotes
- Romans 16:5 NU Asia
- Romans 16:11 Or relative
- Romans 16:16 NU All the churches
- Romans 16:18 NU, M omit Jesus
- Romans 16:19 innocent
- Romans 16:24 NU omits v. 24.
- Romans 16:25 M puts Rom. 16:25–27 after Rom. 14:23.
Romans 16
The Message
16 1-2 Be sure to welcome our friend Phoebe in the way of the Master, with all the generous hospitality we Christians are famous for. I heartily endorse both her and her work. She’s a key representative of the church at Cenchrea. Help her out in whatever she asks. She deserves anything you can do for her. She’s helped many a person, including me.
3-5 Say hello to Priscilla and Aquila, who have worked hand in hand with me in serving Jesus. They once put their lives on the line for me. And I’m not the only one grateful to them. All the non-Jewish gatherings of believers also owe them plenty, to say nothing of the church that meets in their house.
Hello to my dear friend Epenetus. He was the very first follower of Jesus in the province of Asia.
6 Hello to Mary. What a worker she has turned out to be!
7 Hello to my cousins Andronicus and Junias. We once shared a jail cell. They were believers in Christ before I was. Both of them are outstanding leaders.
8 Hello to Ampliatus, my good friend in the family of God.
9 Hello to Urbanus, our companion in Christ’s work, and my good friend Stachys.
10 Hello to Apelles, a tried-and-true veteran in following Christ.
Hello to the family of Aristobulus.
11 Hello to my cousin Herodion.
Hello to those who belong to the Lord from the family of Narcissus.
12 Hello to Tryphena and Tryphosa—such diligent women in serving the Master.
Hello to Persis, a dear friend and hard worker in Christ.
13 Hello to Rufus—a good choice by the Master!—and his mother. She has also been a dear mother to me.
14 Hello to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and also to all of their families.
15 Hello to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas—and all the followers of Jesus who live with them.
16 Holy hugs all around! All the churches of Christ send their warmest greetings!
17-18 One final word of counsel, friends. Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. They’re only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren’t above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents.
19-20 And so while there has never been any question about your honesty in these matters—I couldn’t be more proud of you!—I want you also to be smart, making sure every “good” thing is the real thing. Don’t be gullible in regard to smooth-talking evil. Stay alert like this, and before you know it the God of peace will come down on Satan with both feet, stomping him into the dirt. Enjoy the best of Jesus!
21 And here are some more greetings from our end. Timothy, my partner in this work, Lucius, and my cousins Jason and Sosipater all said to tell you hello.
22 I, Tertius, who wrote this letter at Paul’s dictation, send you my personal greetings.
23 Gaius, who is host here to both me and the whole church, wants to be remembered to you.
Erastus, the city treasurer, and our good friend Quartus send their greetings.
25-26 All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the final detail.
27 All our praise is focused through Jesus on this incomparably wise God! Yes!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson