Romans 15

1 Most of us are sure [that God will not punish us for doing certain things that the laws and rituals God gave Moses said the Jews should not do. But we] should be patient with those who are uncertain [about such things], and we should not let them irritate us. We should not [simply] please ourselves.

We, the strong, ought to take on our own shoulders the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not merely to please ourselves.

2 Each of us should [do the things that] please the fellow [believers with whom we come in contact, and things that will] benefit them. [We should do those things] in order to help them mature [spiritually].

Let each of us please our neighbor for our neighbor’s good, to help in the building up of their character.

3 [We should please our fellow believers], since Christ [has set us an example]. He did not [do things to] please himself. On the contrary, [he tried to please God even when others insulted him. That was] as it is written {as ([someone/the Psalmist]) wrote} [in Scripture that the Messiah said to God]: “When people insulted you [(sg)], [it was as though] they were also insulting me.”

Even the Christ did not please himself! On the contrary, as scripture says of him – ‘The reproaches of those who were reproaching you fell upon me.’

4 And [you need to remember that] what was written previously {what [God’s servants] previously wrote} [in the Scriptures], was written {[they] wrote} to teach us in order that we would be patient and be encouraged by [reading/believing] what they wrote. If we do that, we can confidently expect [God to do for us all he has promised].

Whatever was written in the scriptures in days gone by was written for our instruction, so that, through patient endurance, and through the encouragement drawn from the scriptures, we might hold fast to our hope.

5 God is the one who enables us to be patient and encourages us. ([Ask/Pray to]) [him that he would] enable you [all] to live harmoniously with each other, doing as Christ Jesus [did].

And may God, the giver of this patience and this encouragement, grant you to be united in sympathy in Christ,

6 Then, as you are united in what you think and say [MTY], you will praise God, [who is the heavenly] father [MET] of our Lord Jesus Christ.

so that with one heart and one voice you may praise the God and Father of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

7 So [I say to all of you believers at Rome], accept each other. [If you do that], people will praise God [as they see you behaving like Christ. Accept each other] just like Christ accepted you!

Therefore always receive one another as friends, just as the Christ himself received us, to the glory of God.

8 I want [you to remember] that Christ [helped us] Jews [MTY] by what he did, in order to show that God (is faithful/does what he says he will do). That is, [his coming as our Messiah] fulfilled what God promised to [our Jewish] ancestors.

For I tell you that Christ, in vindication of God’s truthfulness, has become a minister of the covenant of circumcision, so that he may fulfill the promises made to our ancestors,

9 And [by acting mercifully to them, he also caused] non-Jews to praise him. [What he has done for non-Jews] fulfills what is written [in the Scriptures that David said to God]: “So I will praise you [(sg) when I am] among the non-Jews, and I will sing to you [MTY].”

and that the Gentiles also may praise God for his mercy. As scripture says – ‘Therefore will I make acknowledgment to you among the Gentiles and sing in honor of your name.’

10 [David] also wrote, “You non-Jews, rejoice with us who are God’s people.”

And again it says – ‘Rejoice, you Gentiles, with God’s people.’

11 [And Moses wrote in] the [Scriptures], “Praise the Lord, all [you] non-Jews, and may everyone praise him [DOU].”

And yet again – ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all Peoples sing his praises.’

12 And Isaiah wrote [in the Scriptures], “There will be a descendant [MET] of [King] David who will begin to rule the non-Jews. They will confidently expect him [to fulfill what he has promised].”

Again, Isaiah says – ‘There will be a Scion of the house of Jesse, One who is to arise to rule the Gentiles; on him will the Gentiles rest their hopes.’

13 God is the one who causes you to confidently expect [him to do what he has promised. I pray/ask] that he will cause you to be completely joyful and peaceful as you trust [in him]. As you do that, the Holy Spirit will enable you to more and more confidently expect [to receive what God has promised you].

May God, who inspires our hope, grant you perfect happiness and peace in your faith, until you are filled with this hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

14 My fellow believers, I myself am [completely] sure that you yourselves [have acted toward others] in a completely good way. You have done that because you have known completely [all that God wants you to know] [HYP], and because you are able to teach each other.

I am persuaded, my friends – yes, I Paul, with regard to you – that you are yourselves full of kindness, furnished with all Christian learning, and well able to give advice to one another.

15 However, I have written to you quite frankly [in this letter] about some things in order to remind you [about those things]. [I have written this letter] because I have been appointed by God {God has [appointed] me}, which I did not deserve,

But in parts of this letter I have expressed myself somewhat boldly – by way of refreshing your memories –

16 in order that I would work for Jesus Christ among non-Jews. [God has appointed me] to act like a priest as I [proclaim] his good message in order that he will accept the non-Jews [who believe in Christ. They will be] like an offering [MET] [to God] as a result of their being dedicated [to him] by the Holy Spirit {the Holy Spirit dedicating them [to God]}.

because of the charge with which God has entrusted me, that I should be an assistant of Christ Jesus to go to the Gentiles – that I should act as a priest of God’s good news, so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be an acceptable sacrifice, consecrated by the Holy Spirit.

17 It follows that, because [of my relationship with] (OR, because [I belong to]) Christ Jesus, I am happy about [my work for] God.

It is, then, through my union with Christ Jesus that I have a proud confidence in my work for God.

18 I will speak boldly only [LIT] about the work that Christ has enabled me to do. [I do that work] in order that non-Jews might pay attention to [the message about Christ] as a result of what I have said and done,

For I will not dare to speak of anything but what Christ has done through me to win the obedience of the Gentiles –

19 specifically, by [my performing] many powerful miracles [DOU]. [I have done those things] as a result of [God’s] Spirit powerfully [enabling me]. As a result [of doing those things, while traveling] all the way around from Jerusalem to Illyricum [province], I have completed [my work] of proclaiming the message about Christ [in those places].

by my words and actions, through the power displayed in signs and marvels, and through the power of the Holy Spirit. And so, starting from Jerusalem and going as far as Illyria, I have told in full the good news of the Christ;

20 As [I proclaim] that message, I am always eagerly trying to proclaim it [in places] where people have not already heard about Christ. I do that in order that [as I work for God] I might not [be continuing the work for him that someone else already started] [MET]. [I do not want to be like a man who] builds [a house] on someone else’s foundation.

yet always with the ambition to tell the good news where Christ’s name had not previously been heard, so as to avoid building on another’s foundations.

21 On the contrary, [I teach non-Jews, so that what happens may be like] what was written {the prophet Isaiah wrote} [in the Scriptures about the Messiah]: “Those who did not hear about him previously will know [the truth about him]. Truly, those who have not heard [about him will hear and] understand [his message] [DOU].”

But as scripture says – ‘They to whom he had never been proclaimed will see; and they who have never heard will understand!’

22 Because [I have attempted to preach the message about Christ in places where they have not heard about him], I have been hindered {things have hindered me} many times [from being able] to visit you.

That is why I have so often been prevented from coming to you.

23 But now there are no more places in these regions [where people have not heard about Christ]. Furthermore, for several years I have wanted to visit you.

But now there are no further openings for me in these parts, and I have for several years been longing to come to you whenever I may be going to Spain.

24 [So I hope to go/come to see you]. I hope to do that as soon as I am on my way to [the provinces in] Spain. I hope to see you as I journey through [your area], and I hope that [by whatever you give me] [EUP] you will help me on my journey to Spain. But before [I go there], I want to enjoy being with you for a little while, although [I would like to stay with you longer].

For my hope is to visit you on my journey, and then to be sent on my way by you, after I have first partly satisfied myself by seeing something of you.

25 But [I cannot visit you] now, because I am about to go to Jerusalem in order to take money [EUP] for God’s people [there].

Just now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem, to take help to Christ’s people there.

26 [The believers in] Macedonia and Achaia [provinces] [MTY] decided to contribute some [money] [EUP] for those of God’s people in Jerusalem who are poor.

For Macedonia and Greece have been glad to make a collection for the poor among Christ’s people at Jerusalem.

27 They themselves decided [to do this, but] truly they owe something to God’s people in Jerusalem. The non-Jewish [believers] benefited spiritually from Jewish [believers as a result of hearing the message about Christ from them], so the non-Jews should also help the Jewish believers [in Jerusalem by giving them] material things (OR, money) [EUP].

Yes, they were glad to do so; and indeed it is a duty which they owe to them. For the Gentile converts who have shared their spiritual blessings are in duty bound to minister to them in the things of this world.

28 So when I have finished this [task] by safely delivering all this money [MET, EUP] [that the believers in Macedonia and Achaia have given], I will leave [Jerusalem and visit] you [in Rome while I am] on my way to Spain.

When I have settled this matter, and have secured for the poor at Jerusalem the enjoyment of these benefits, I will go, by way of you, to Spain.

29 And I know that when I visit you, Christ will abundantly bless [us] (OR, enable [me] to bless [you]).

And I know that, when I come to you, it will be with a full measure of blessing from Christ.

30 Because [we belong to] our Lord Jesus Christ and because the Spirit [of God causes us to] love [each other], I urge you [all] that [you help me] by fervently/intensely praying to God for me.

I beg you, then, friends, by Jesus Christ, our Lord, and by the love inspired by the Spirit, to join me in earnest prayer to God on my behalf.

31 [Pray that] I will be protected {[that God] will protect me} so that the [Jews] in Judea who do not believe [the message about Christ will not harm me]. Also pray that God’s people in Jerusalem will accept the money [EUP] that I [take] to them.

Pray that I may be rescued from those in Judea who reject the faith, and that the help which I am taking to Jerusalem may prove acceptable to Christ’s people;

32 Pray these things in order that I may go/come to you if God wants me to go/come, and that I may go/come joyfully, and that then God will refresh my [spirit as a result of my visiting/being] with you.

so that, God willing, I may be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and enjoy some rest among you.

33 [I pray that] God, who [causes us to have inner] peace, will be with all of you [and will help] you. (May it be so!/Amen!)

May God, the giver of peace, be with you all. Amen.