Letter to the Romans 16

¹ I commend to you our sister Phoebe,[*a] a deaconess of the church at Cenchreae.

² Give her, in union with the Lord, a welcome worthy of saints, and help her with anything she needs: she has looked after a great many people, myself included.

³ My greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,

⁴ who risked death to save my life:[*b] I am not the only one to owe them a debt of gratitude, all the churches among the pagans do as well.

⁵ My greetings also to the church that meets at their house.

⁶ Greetings to my friend Epaenetus, the first of Asia’s gifts to Christ; greetings to Mary who worked so hard for you;

⁷ to those outstanding apostles Andronicus and Junias, my compatriots and fellow prisoners who became Christians before me;

⁸ to Ampliatus, my friend in the Lord;

⁹ to Urban, my fellow worker in Christ; to my friend Stachys;

¹⁰ to Apelles who has gone through so much for Christ; to everyone who belongs to the household of Aristobulus;

¹¹ to my compatriot Herodion; to those in the household of Narcissus who belong to the Lord;

¹² to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who work hard for the Lord; to my friend Persis who has done so much for the Lord;

¹³ to Rufus, a chosen servant of the Lord, and to his mother who has been a mother to me too.

¹⁴ Greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the brothers who are with them;

¹⁵ to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints who are with them.

¹⁶ Greet each other with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.

¹⁷ I implore you, brothers, be on your guard against anybody who encourages trouble or puts difficulties in the way of the doctrine you have been taught. Avoid them.

¹⁸ People like that are not slaves of Jesus Christ; they are slaves of their own appetites, confusing the simple-minded with their pious and persuasive arguments.

¹⁹ Your fidelity to Christ, anyway, is famous everywhere, and that makes me very happy about you. I only hope that you are also wise in what is good, and innocent of what is bad.

²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan beneath your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

²¹ Timothy, who is working with me, sends his greetings; so do my compatriots, Jason and Sosipater.

²² I, Tertius, who wrote out this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³ Greetings from Gaius, who is entertaining me and from the whole church that meets in his house. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends his greetings; so does our brother Quartus.

²⁵ Glory to him who is able to give you the strength to live according to the Good News I preach, and in which I proclaim Jesus Christ, the revelation of a mystery kept secret for endless ages,

²⁶ but now so clear that it must be broadcast to pagans everywhere to bring them to the obedience of faith. This is only what scripture has predicted, and it is all part of the way the eternal God wants things to be.

²⁷ He alone is wisdom; give glory therefore to him through Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Amen.