19:21 Now after all these things had taken place, 11 Paul resolved 12 to go to Jerusalem, 13 passing through Macedonia 14 and Achaia. 15 He said, 16 “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 17
23:11 The following night the Lord 18 stood near 19 Paul 20 and said, “Have courage, 21 for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, 22 so you must also testify in Rome.” 23
1:8 First of all, 27 I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. 1:9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit by preaching the gospel 28 of his Son, is my witness that 29 I continually remember you 1:10 and I always ask 30 in my prayers, if perhaps now at last I may succeed in visiting you according to the will of God. 31 1:11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift 32 to strengthen you, 1:12 that is, that we may be mutually comforted by one another’s faith, 33 both yours and mine. 1:13 I do not want you to be unaware, 34 brothers and sisters, 35 that I often intended to come to you (and was prevented until now), so that I may have some fruit even among you, just as I already have among the rest of the Gentiles. 36 1:14 I am a debtor 37 both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 1:15 Thus I am eager 38 also to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. 39
15:22 This is the reason I was often hindered from coming to you. 15:23 But now there is nothing more to keep me 40 in these regions, and I have for many years desired 41 to come to you 15:24 when I go to Spain. For I hope to visit you when I pass through and that you will help me 42 on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.
15:25 But now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. 15:26 For Macedonia and Achaia are pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 15:27 For they were pleased to do this, and indeed they are indebted to the Jerusalem saints. 43 For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are obligated also to minister to them in material things. 15:28 Therefore after I have completed this and have safely delivered this bounty to them, 44 I will set out for Spain by way of you, 15:29 and I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of Christ’s blessing.
1 tn According to BDAG 595 s.v. Λιβύη, the western part of Libya, Libya Cyrenaica, is referred to here (see also Josephus, Ant. 16.6.1 [16.160] for a similar phrase).
2 map For location see JP4-A1.
3 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here. The word “there” is not in the Greek text but is implied.
4 tn Grk “finding.” The participle εὑρών (Jeurwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
5 sn On Aquila and his wife Priscilla see also Acts 18:18, 26; Rom 16:3-4; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19. In the NT “Priscilla” and “Prisca” are the same person. This author uses the full name Priscilla, while Paul uses the diminutive form Prisca.
6 sn Pontus was a region in the northeastern part of Asia Minor. It was a Roman province.
7 sn Claudius refers to the Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, known as Claudius, who ruled from
8 tn Or “to leave.”
9 map For location see JP4-A1.
10 tn Or “went to.”
11 tn Grk “all these things had been fulfilled.”
12 tn Grk “Paul purposed in [his] spirit” (an idiom). According to BDAG 1003 s.v. τίθημι 1.b.ε the entire idiom means “to resolve” (or “decide”): “ἔθετο ὁ Παῦλος ἐν τῷ πνεύματι w. inf. foll. Paul resolved 19:21.”
13 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
14 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
15 sn Achaia was the Roman province of Achaia located across the Aegean Sea from Ephesus. Its principal city was Corinth.
16 tn Grk “Achaia, saying.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the awkwardness in English of having two participial clauses following one another (“passing through…saying”), the participle εἰπών (eipwn) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence begun here in the translation.
17 sn This is the first time Paul mentions Rome. He realized the message of Christianity could impact that society even at its heights.
18 sn The presence of the Lord indicated the vindicating presence and direction of God.
19 tn Grk “standing near Paul, said.” The participle ἐπιστάς (epistas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
20 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Or “Do not be afraid.”
22 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
23 sn Like Jesus went to Jerusalem, Paul would now go to Rome. This trip forms the concluding backdrop to Acts. This is the second notice about going to Rome (see Acts 19:21 for the first).
24 map For location see JP4-A1.
25 tn Although the first part of v. 7 is not a complete English sentence, it maintains the “From…to” pattern used in all the Pauline letters to indicate the sender and the recipients. Here, however, there are several intervening verses (vv. 2-6), which makes the first half of v. 7 appear as an isolated sentence fragment.
26 tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”
27 tn Grk “First.” Paul never mentions a second point, so J. B. Phillips translated “I must begin by telling you….”
28 tn Grk “whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel.”
29 tn Grk “as.”
30 tn Grk “remember you, always asking.”
31 tn Grk “succeed in coming to you in the will of God.”
32 sn Paul does not mean here that he is going to bestow upon the Roman believers what is commonly known as a “spiritual gift,” that is, a special enabling for service given to believers by the Holy Spirit. Instead, this is either a metonymy of cause for effect (Paul will use his own spiritual gifts to edify the Romans), or it simply means something akin to a blessing or benefit in the spiritual realm. It is possible that Paul uses this phrase to connote specifically the broader purpose of his letter, which is for the Romans to understand his gospel, but this seems less likely.
33 tn Grk “that is, to be comforted together with you through the faith in one another.”
34 sn The expression “I do not want you to be unaware [Grk ignorant]” also occurs in 1 Cor 10:1; 12:1; 1 Thess 4:13. Paul uses the phrase to signal that he is about to say something very important.
35 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).
36 tn Grk “in order that I might have some fruit also among you just as also among the rest of the Gentiles.”
37 tn Or “obligated.”
38 tn Or “willing, ready”; Grk “so my eagerness [is] to preach…” The word πρόθυμος (proqumo", “eager, willing”) is used only elsewhere in the NT in Matt 26:41 = Mark 14:38: “the spirit indeed is willing (πρόθυμος), but the flesh is weak.”
39 map For location see JP4-A1.
40 tn Grk “now no longer having a place…I have.”
41 tn Grk “but having a desire…for many years.”
42 tn Grk “and to be helped by you.” The passive construction was changed to an active one in the translation.
43 tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the Jerusalem saints) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
44 tn Grk “have sealed this fruit to them.”
45 tn Grk “Here is the mind that has wisdom.”
46 tn It is important to note that the height of “mountains” versus “hills” or other topographical terms is somewhat relative. In terms of Palestinian topography, Mount Tabor (traditionally regarded as the mount of transfiguration) is some 1,800 ft (550 m) above sea level, while the Mount of Olives is only some 100 ft (30 m) higher than Jerusalem.
47 tn Grk “And.” Because this remark is somewhat resumptive in nature, “as for” is used in the translation.