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.

As for us who are strong, our duty is to bear with the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not seek our own pleasure.

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 endeavour to please his fellow Christian, aiming at a blessing calculated to build him up.

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.”

For even the Christ did not seek His own pleasure. His principle was, "The reproaches which they addressed to Thee have fallen on 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].

For all that was written of old has been written for our instruction, so that we may always have hope through the power of endurance and the encouragement which the Scriptures afford.

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 power of endurance and of that encouragement, grant you to be in full sympathy with one another in accordance with the example of Christ Jesus,

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 oneness both of heart and voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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!

Habitually therefore give one another a friendly reception, just as Christ also has received you, and thus promote 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.

My meaning is that Christ has become a servant to the people of Israel in vindication of God's truthfulness-- in showing how sure are the promises made to our forefathers--

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 have glorified God in acknowledgment of His mercy. So it is written, "For this reason I will praise Thee among the Gentiles, and sing psalms in honour of Thy name."

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

And again the Psalmist says, "Be glad, ye Gentiles, in company with His People."

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

And again, "Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles, and let all the people extol Him."

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].”

And again Isaiah says, "There shall be the Root of Jesse and One who rises up to rule the Gentiles. On Him shall the Gentiles build 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, the giver of hope, fill you with continual joy and peace because you trust in Him--so that you may have abundant hope through 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.

But as to you, brethren, I am convinced-- yes, I Paul am convinced--that, even apart from my teaching, you are already full of goodness of heart, and enriched with complete Christian knowledge, and are also competent to instruct 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 I write to you the more boldly--partly as reminding you of what you already know--because of the authority graciously entrusted to me by God,

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]}.

that I should be a minister of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles, doing priestly duties in connexion with God's Good News so that the sacrifice--namely the Gentiles--may be acceptable to Him, being (as it is) an offering which the Holy Spirit has made holy.

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

I can therefore glory in Christ Jesus concerning the work for God in which I am engaged.

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 presume to mention any of the results that Christ has brought about by other agency than mine in securing the obedience of the Gentiles by word or deed,

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].

with power manifested in signs and marvels, and through the power of the Holy Spirit. But--to speak simply of my own labours--beginning in Jerusalem and the outlying districts, I have proclaimed without reserve, even as far as Illyricum, 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.

making it my ambition, however, not to tell the Good News where Christ's name was already known, for fear I should be building on another man's foundation.

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, "Those shall see, to whom no report about Him has hitherto come, and those who until now have not heard shall 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.

And it is really this which has again and again prevented my 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, as there is no more unoccupied ground in this part of the world, and I have for years past been eager to pay you a visit,

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].

I hope, as soon as ever I extend my travels into Spain, to see you on my way and be helped forward by you on my journey, when I have first enjoyed being with you for a time.

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].

But at present I am going to Jerusalem to serve God's people,

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 kindly contributed a certain sum in relief of the poor among God's people, in 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 have kindly done this, and, in fact, it was a debt they owed them. For seeing that the Gentiles have been admitted in to partnership with the Jews in their spiritual blessings, they in turn are under an obligation to render sacred service to the Jews in temporal things.

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.

So after discharging this duty, and making sure that these kind gifts reach those for whom they are intended, I shall start for Spain, passing through Rome on my way there;

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 vast amount 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.

But I entreat you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love which His Spirit inspires, to help me by wrestling in 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.

asking that I may escape unhurt from those in Judaea who are disobedient, and that the service which I am going to Jerusalem to render may be well received by the Church there,

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.

in order that if God be willing I may come to you with a glad heart, and may enjoy a time of rest with 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, who gives peace be with you all! Amen.