Romans 15:1-23

Exhortation for the Strong to Help the Weak

15:1 But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves. ¹  15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up. 15:3 For even Christ did not please himself, but just as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” ²  15:4 For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope. 15:5 Now may the God of endurance and comfort give you unity with one another ³  in accordance with Christ Jesus, 15:6 so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Exhortation to Mutual Acceptance

15:7 Receive one another, then, just as Christ also received you, to God’s glory. 15:8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised ⁴  on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers, ⁵  15:9 and thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy. ⁶  As it is written, “Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.” ⁷  15:10 And again it says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” ⁸  15:11 And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him.” ⁹  15:12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, and the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles, in him will the Gentiles hope.” ¹⁰  15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, ¹¹  so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s Motivation for Writing the Letter

15:14 But I myself am fully convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, ¹²  that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. 15:15 But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, because of the grace given to me by God 15:16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I serve ¹³  the gospel of God ¹⁴  like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering, ¹⁵  sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

15:17 So I boast ¹⁶  in Christ Jesus about the things that pertain to God. 15:18 For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in order to bring about the obedience ¹⁷  of the Gentiles, by word and deed, 15:19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem even as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 15:20 And in this way I desire to preach where Christ has not been named, so as not to build on another person’s foundation, 15:21 but as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” ¹⁸ 

Paul’s Intention of Visiting the Romans

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 ¹⁹  in these regions, and I have for many years desired ²⁰  to come to you

[15:1]  ¹ tn Grk “and not please ourselves.” NT Greek negatives used in contrast like this are often not absolute, but relative: “not so much one as the other.”

[15:3]  ² sn A quotation from Ps 69:9.

[15:5]  ³ tn Grk “grant you to think the same among one another.”

[15:8]  ⁴ tn Grk “of the circumcision”; that is, the Jews.

[15:8]  ⁵ tn Or “to the patriarchs.”

[15:9]  ⁶ tn There are two major syntactical alternatives which are both awkward: (1) One could make “glorify” dependent on “Christ has become a minister” and coordinate with “to confirm” and the result would be rendered “Christ has become a minister of circumcision to confirm the promises…and so that the Gentiles might glorify God.” (2) One could make “glorify” dependent on “I tell you” and coordinate with “Christ has become a minister” and the result would be rendered “I tell you that Christ has become a minister of circumcision…and that the Gentiles glorify God.” The second rendering is preferred.

[15:9]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 18:49.

[15:10]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 32:43.

[15:11]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 117:1.

[15:12]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Isa 11:10.

[15:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in the believing” or “as [you] believe,” with the object “him” supplied from the context. The referent could be God (15:13a) or Christ (15:12).

[15:14]  ¹² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[15:16]  ¹³ tn Grk “serving.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but in keeping with contemporary English style, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[15:16]  ¹⁴ tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself.

[15:16]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “so that the offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable.” This could be understood to refer to an offering belonging to the Gentiles (a possessive genitive) or made by the Gentiles (subjective genitive), but more likely the phrase should be understood as an appositive genitive, with the Gentiles themselves consisting of the offering (so J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC 38], 2:860). The latter view is reflected in the translation “so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering.”

[15:17]  ¹⁶ tc ‡ After οὖν (oun), several important Alexandrian and Western mss (B C D F G 81 365 pc) have τήν (thn). The article is lacking in א A Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï however. Ì⁴⁶ supplies a relative pronoun and has a different reading entirely (“which I have [as a] boast”). Articles were frequently introduced to clarify the meaning of the text. In this instance, since the word modified (καύχησιν, kauchsin) is third declension, a visual oversight (resulting in omission) is less likely. Hence, the shorter reading is probably original. The difference in translation between these first two options is negligible (“I have the boast” or “I have a boast”). NA²⁷ puts the article in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[15:18]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “unto obedience.”

[15:21]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Isa 52:15.

[15:23]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “now no longer having a place…I have.”

[15:23]  ²⁰ tn Grk “but having a desire…for many years.”