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.

The Report of Saul’s Death

1 Now it came to pass after the ^(A)death of Saul, when David had returned from ^(B)the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, ² on the third day, behold, it happened that ^(C)a man came from Saul’s camp ^(D)with his clothes ^[a]torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he ^(E)fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

³ And David said to him, “Where have you come from?”

So he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

⁴ Then David said to him, ^(F)“How did the matter go? Please tell me.”

And he answered, “The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and ^(G)Jonathan his son are dead also.”

⁵ So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”

⁶ Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on ^(H)Mount Gilboa, there was ^(I)Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. ⁷ Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for ^[b]anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’ ¹⁰ So I stood over him and ^(J)killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and ^(K)tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. ¹² And they ^(L)mourned and wept and ^(M)fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the ^(N)people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

¹³ Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?”

And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”

¹⁴ So David said to him, “How ^(O)was it you were not ^(P)afraid to ^(Q)put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” ¹⁵ Then ^(R)David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. ¹⁶ So David said to him, ^(S)“Your blood is on your own head, for ^(T)your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”

The Song of the Bow

¹⁷ Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, ^18 (U)and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written ^(V)in the Book ^[c]of Jasher:

Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign

A Psalm ^(A)of Solomon.