Greetings
1 I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, deaconess of the church of Cenchreae.
2 Please re ceive her in the name of the Lord, as it should be among brothers and sisters in the faith, and help her in what ever is necessary, because she helped many, among them, myself.
3 Greetings to Prisca and Aqui las, my helpers in Christ Jesus.
4 To save my life, they risked theirs; I am very grateful to them, as are all the churches of the pagan nations.
5 Greetings also to the church that meets in their house. Greetings to my dear Epa e netus, the first in the province of Asia to believe in Christ.
6 Greet Mary, who worked so much for you.
7 Greetings to Andronicus and Ju nias, my relatives and companions in prison; they are well known apostles and served Christ before I did.
8 Give greetings to Ampliatus, whom I love so much in the Lord.
9 Greetings to Urbanus, our fellow worker, and to my dear Stachys.
10 Greetings to Apelles, who suffered for Christ, and the family of Aris to bu lus.
11 Greetings to my relative He ro dion and those in the household of Nar cissus, who works in the Lord’s ser vice.
12 Greetings to Try pha ena and Tryphosa, who toil for the Lord’s sake.
13 Greetings to Ru fus, elected of the Lord, and his moth er who was a second moth er to me.
14 Greetings to Asyn critus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patro bas, Her mas and the brothers and sisters staying with them.
15 Greet ings to Philo logus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympas and all the holy ones in Christ Jesus with them.
16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send their greetings.
A warning
17 Brothers and sisters, I beg of you to be careful of those who are causing divisions and trou bles in teaching you a different teaching from the one you were taught. Keep away from them,
18 because those persons do not serve Christ our Lord, but their own interests, deceiving with their soft and entertaining language those who are simple of heart.
19 Eve ry body knows that you are very obedient, and because of that I am happy, but I want you to be sensible in doing good and firm against evil.
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan and place him under your feet.
May Christ Jesus, our Lord, bless you.
21 Timothy, who is with me, sends you greetings, and so do Lucius, Jason and Sosipatros, my relatives.
22 I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, send you greetings in the Lord.
23 Greetings from Gaius, who has given me lodging and in whose house the church meets. Greetings from Erastus, treasurer of the city, and from our brother Quartus. ( 24 )
25 Glory be to God!
He is able to give you strength, according to the Good News I proclaim, announcing Christ Jesus.
Now is revealed the mysterious plan kept hidden for long ages in the past.
26 By the will of the eternal God it is brought to light, through the pro phetic books, and all nations shall believe the faith proclaimed to them.
27 Glory to God, who alone is wise, through Christ Jesus, for ever! Amen.
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Comments Letter to the Romans, Chapter 16
• 16.1 This last chapter of the letter to the Romans is not found in the oldest existing papyrus of Paul’s letters. It only has the final hymn 16:25-27. On the other hand, it seems that this chapter was added after the blessing of 15:33. Throughout this letter, Paul was very calmly and prudently addressing a church he did not know and had not founded and suddenly, he is sending greetings to countless persons close to him. A little later, Paul issued a strong warning (17-19).
The most convincing explanation is that Paul wrote this letter to the Romans from Corinth. He must have sent a copy to Ephesus that he had left the previous year. The version intended for the Romans was that of the old papyrus, while the longer traditional text was the copy sent to Ephesus. Paul must have added this personal page.
• 16.17 Brothers and sisters, I beg of you to be careful. There is no letter of Paul without this warning against divisions and against those who preach a “different Gospel.” The doctrine of the Church is the doctrine of the apostles, the witness es of Jesus. There is a hierarchy, that is, a legally constituted authority, and Paul demands obedience in matters of faith.
The last sentence is a prayer of thanksgiving to God. It is similar to an other prayer, more devel oped, with which he begins the letter to the Ephesians.