Romans 16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Personal Greetings
16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon[a] of the church at Cenchreae,(A) 2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord, as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well.
3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus,(B) 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but also all the churches of the gentiles. 5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert[b] in Asia for Christ.(C) 6 Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia,[c] my fellow Israelites who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our coworker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.(D) 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my fellow Israelite Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and greet his mother—a mother to me also. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.(E) 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.(F)
Final Instructions
17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who create dissensions and hindrances, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them.(G) 18 For such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites,[d] and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded.(H) 19 For your obedience is known to all; therefore, I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and guileless in what is evil.(I) 20 The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.[e](J)
21 Timothy, my coworker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Israelites.(K)
22 I Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord.[f]
23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.[g](L)
Final Doxology
25 Now to God[h] who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages(M) 26 but is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith(N)— 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.[i]
Footnotes
- 16.1 Or minister
- 16.5 Gk first fruits
- 16.7 Or Junias; other ancient authorities read Julia
- 16.18 Gk their own belly
- 16.20 Other ancient authorities lack this sentence
- 16.22 Or I Tertius, writing this letter in the Lord, greet you
- 16.23 Other ancient authorities add verse 24, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.
- 16.25 Gk the one
- 16.27 Other ancient authorities lack 16.25–27 or include it after 14.23 or 15.33; others put 16.24 after 16.27
Romans 16
Complete Jewish Bible
16 I am introducing to you our sister Phoebe, shammash of the congregation at Cenchrea, 2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord, as God’s people should, and give her whatever assistance she may need from you; for she has been a big help to many people — including myself.
3 Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers for the Messiah Yeshua. 4 They risked their necks to save my life; not only I thank them, but also all the Messianic communities among the Gentiles. 5 And give my greetings to the congregation that meets in their house.
Give my greetings to my dear friend Epaenetus, who was the first person in the province of Asia to put his trust in the Messiah.
6 Give my greetings to Miryam, who has worked very hard for you.
7 Greetings to Andronicus and Junia, relatives of mine who were in prison with me. They are well known among the emissaries; also they came to trust in the Messiah before I did.
8 Greetings to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.
9 Greetings to Urbanus, our fellow worker for the Messiah, and to my dear friend Stachys.
10 Greetings to Appeles, whose trust in the Messiah has been tested and proved.
Greet those in the household of Aristobulus.
11 Greet my relative, Herodion.
12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, women who are working hard for the Lord.
Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has done a lot of hard work for the Lord.
13 Greet Rufus, chosen by the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me too.
14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers who are with them.
15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all of God’s people who are with them.
16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the Messiah’s congregations send their greetings to you.
17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put snares alongside the teaching in which you have been trained — keep away from them. 18 For men like these are not serving our Lord the Messiah but their own belly; by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the innocent. 19 For everyone has heard about your obedience; therefore I rejoice over you. However, I want you to be wise concerning good, but innocent concerning evil. 20 And God, the source of shalom, will soon crush the Adversary under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Yeshua be with you.
21 Timothy, my fellow-worker, sends greetings to you; so do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives.
22 I, Tertius, the one writing down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
23 My host Gaius, in whose home the whole congregation meets, greets you. Erastus the city treasurer and brother Quartus greet you. 24 [a]
25 Now to God, who can strengthen you, according to my Good News,
in harmony with the revelation of the secret truth
which is the proclamation of Yeshua the Messiah,
kept hidden in silence for ages and ages,
26 but manifested now through prophetic writings,
in keeping with the command of God the Eternal,
and communicated to all the Gentiles
to promote in them trust-grounded obedience —
27 to the only wise God, through Yeshua the Messiah,
be the glory forever and ever!
Amen.
Footnotes
- Romans 16:24 Some manuscripts have verse 24: The grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you all. Amen.
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!
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson