Greetings to the Christians

16 I ·recommend [commend] to you our sister Phoebe, who is a ·helper [or servant; or minister; or deacon; 1 Tim. 3:11] in the church in Cenchrea [^CPhoebe may have been the messenger carrying this letter]. ² I ask you to ·accept [welcome] her in the Lord in the way ·God’s people should [worthy of the saints]. Help her with anything she needs, because she has ·helped [been a benefactor/patron to] many people, ·including [or especially] me.

³ Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila [Acts 18:2, 18, 26], ·who work together with me [^Lmy coworkers] in Christ Jesus ⁴ and who risked their own ·lives [neck] ·to save [^Lfor] my life. I am thankful to them, and [^Lnot only I, but] all the Gentile churches are thankful as well. ⁵ Also, greet for me the church that meets at their house.

Greetings to my dear friend Epenetus, who was the ·first person in Asia to follow Christ [^Lfirstfruit of Asia for Christ]. ⁶ Greetings to Mary, who worked very hard for you. ⁷ Greetings to Andronicus and Junia [^CJunia is probably a woman’s name, though not certainly], my ·relatives [or fellow Jews], ·who were in prison with me [and fellow prisoners]. They are ·very important [prominent; or well known to/among the] apostles. They were believers in Christ before I was. ⁸ Greetings to Ampliatus, my ·dear [beloved] friend in the Lord. ⁹ Greetings to Urbanus, a worker together with me for Christ. And greetings to my ·dear [beloved] friend Stachys. ¹⁰ Greetings to Apelles, ·who was tested and proved that he truly loves Christ [or a proven servant of Christ; ^Lapproved in Christ]. Greetings to all those who are in the family of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greetings to Herodion, my ·fellow citizen [or fellow Jew; or relative]. Greetings to all those in the family of Narcissus who ·belong to [^Lare in] the Lord. ¹² Greetings to Tryphena and Tryphosa, ·women who work very hard for [^Llaborers in] the Lord. Greetings to ·my dear friend [the beloved] Persis, who also has worked very hard ·for [^Lin] the Lord. ¹³ Greetings to Rufus, who is ·a special person [^Lchosen] in the Lord, and to his mother, who has been like a mother to me also. ¹⁴ Greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the brothers and sisters who are with them. ¹⁵ Greetings to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and to all ·God’s people [^Tthe saints] with them. ¹⁶ Greet each other with a holy kiss. All of Christ’s churches send greetings to you.

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, I ·ask [urge; encourage] you to look out for those who cause ·divisions [dissension] and who ·upset other people’s faith [create obstacles/stumbling blocks]. ·They [or Such things] are against the true teaching you learned, so stay away from them. ¹⁸ Such people are not serving our Lord Christ but are ·only doing what pleases themselves [serving their own appetites/^Lbellies]. They use ·fancy [smooth] talk and ·fine words [flattery] to ·fool [deceive] the ·minds of those who do not know about evil [^Lhearts of the innocent/naive]. ¹⁹ All the believers have heard ·that you obey [about your obedience/faithfulness], so I ·am very happy [rejoice] because of you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

²⁰ The God ·who brings [^Lof] peace will soon ·defeat Satan and give you power over him [crush Satan under your feet; Gen. 3:15].

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

²¹ Timothy [Acts 16:1–2; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2], ·a worker together with me [my coworker], sends greetings, as well as Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my ·relatives [or fellow Jews].

²² I am Tertius, and I am writing this letter from Paul [^CTertius was the scribe, or amanuensis, to whom Paul was dictating the letter]. I send greetings to you in the Lord.

²³ Gaius [1 Cor. 1:14; Acts 19:29] is ·letting me and the whole church here use his home [^Lhost to me and to the whole church; ^Cchurches met in homes at this time]. He also sends greetings to you, as do Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus. |²⁴ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.|^[a]

²⁵ ·Glory to God [^LNow to the one] who can make you strong in faith ·by [or in accord with] ·the Good News that I tell people [^Lmy Gospel] and ·by [or in accord with] the ·message [preaching; proclamation] about Jesus Christ. The message about Christ is the ·secret [mystery; 11:25] that was hidden for long ages past but is now ·made known [revealed; disclosed]. ²⁶ It has been ·made clear [revealed; disclosed] through the writings of the prophets. And by the command of the eternal God it is ·made known [revealed; disclosed] to all ·nations [Gentiles] ·that they might believe and obey [or for the obedience that follows faith; ^Lfor the obedience of faith].

²⁷ To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.