1 It is my desire to say a good word for Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchreae: 2 That you will take her in kindly, after the way of the saints, as one who is the Lord's, and give her help in anything in which she may have need of you: because she has been a help to a great number and to myself. 3 Give my love to Prisca and Aquila, workers with me in Christ Jesus, 4 Who for my life put their necks in danger; to whom not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are in debt: 5 And say a kind word to the church which is in their house. Give my love to my dear Epaenetus, who is the first fruit of Asia to Christ. 6 Give my love to Mary, who gave much care to you. 7 Give my love to Andronicus and Junia, my relations, who were in prison with me, who are noted among the Apostles, and who were in Christ before me. 8 Give my love to Ampliatus, who is dear to me in the Lord, 9 Give my love to Urbanus, a worker in Christ with us, and to my dear Stachys. 10 Give my love to Apelles, who has the approval of Christ. Say a kind word to those who are of the house of Aristobulus. 11 Give my love to Herodion, my relation. Say a kind word to those of the house of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. 12 Give my love to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Give my love to my dear Persis, who did much work in the Lord. 13 Give my love to Rufus, one of the Lord's selection, and to his mother and mine. 14 Give my love to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. 15 Give my love to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Give one another a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send their love to you. 17 Now, it is my desire, brothers, that you will take note of those who are causing division and trouble among you, quite against the teaching which was given to you: and keep away from them. 18 For such people are not servants of the Lord Christ, but of their stomachs; and by their smooth and well-said words the hearts of those who have no knowledge of evil are tricked. 19 For all have knowledge of how you do what you are ordered. For this reason I have joy in you, but it is my desire that you may be wise in what is good, and without knowledge of evil. 20 And the God of peace will be crushing Satan under your feet before long. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 21 Timothy, who is working with me, sends his love to you, so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my relations. 22 I, Tertius, who have done the writing of this letter, send love in the Lord. 23 Gaius, with whom I am living, whose house is open to all the church, sends his love, so does Erastus, the manager of the accounts of the town, and Quartus, the brother. 24 [] 25 Now to him who is able to make you strong in agreement with the good news which I gave you and the preaching of Jesus Christ, in the light of the revelation of that secret which has been kept through times eternal, 26 But is now made clear; and by the writings of the prophets, by the order of the eternal God, the knowledge of it has been given to all the nations, so that they may come under the rule of the faith; 27 To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory for ever. So be it.
Romans · Bible in Basic English
Romans 16 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Ampliatus
Paul's beloved friend in the Lord, greeted in Rome.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:8
Andronicus
Paul's kinsman and fellow prisoner, well known among the apostles and in Christ before Paul.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:7
Apelles
Aquila
A Jew from Pontus, a tentmaker expelled from Rome under Claudius, who worked with Paul at Corinth and later taught Apollos with his wife Priscilla.
Cited in the guide: Acts 18:2; Acts 18:26; Romans 16:3
Aristobulus
Paul greets those of the household of Aristobulus.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:10
Asyncritus
Erastus
Named as the city treasurer who sends greetings in Romans, as a helper Paul sent into Macedonia with Timothy, and as one who stayed at Corinth; these are probably the same man.
Cited in the guide: Acts 19:22; Romans 16:23; 2 Timothy 4:20
Gaius
Paul's host at Corinth, whose hospitality extended to the whole church; Paul baptized him.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:14
Hermas
Hermes
Herodion
Julia
Junia
Paul's kinswoman and fellow prisoner, well known among the apostles; she became a believer before Paul. Some manuscripts and translations read the masculine Junias.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:7
Lucius
One of Paul's kinsmen who sent greetings to Rome from Corinth; he may be the Lucius of Cyrene named at Antioch.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:21
Mary
A woman in Rome whom Paul greets as having worked very hard for the church.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:6
Narcissus
Paul greets those in the Lord from the household of Narcissus.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:11
Nereus
Olympas
Patrobas
Persis
A beloved woman who, Paul says, has worked very hard in the Lord.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:12
Philologus
Greeted by Paul together with Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympas, and all the saints with them.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:15
Phlegon
Phoebe
A servant of the church at Cenchreae and patron of many, including Paul, commended by him to the Romans.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:1
Priscilla
Aquila's wife, also called Prisca, who with him hosted a church in her house and risked her neck for Paul's life.
Cited in the guide: Acts 18:2; Acts 18:26; Romans 16:3
Quartus
A brother who sends greetings to Rome in Paul's letter.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:23
Rufus
Greeted by Paul as chosen in the Lord, together with his mother, whom Paul also calls his own.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:13
Sosipater
One of Paul's kinsmen who sent greetings to Rome; he is perhaps the same as Sopater of Berea.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:21
Stachys
Tertius
The man who wrote down Paul's letter to the Romans and added his own greeting in the Lord.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:22
Tryphosa
A woman greeted by Paul as one who works hard in the Lord, mentioned together with Tryphena.
Cited in the guide: Romans 16:12
Urbanus
Cross references (26)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Acts 18:18; 1 Peter 1:22–23; 1 Timothy 5:9–10; James 2:15; Matthew 12:50
- 2 Philippians 2:29; Philippians 1:27; Matthew 10:40–42; Acts 9:41; Colossians 4:10
- 3 Acts 18:26; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19; Romans 16:9; 1 Corinthians 16:16
- 4 1 John 3:16; Philippians 2:30; Joshua 10:24; 1 Corinthians 7:17; Micah 2:3
- 5 Colossians 4:15; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Philemon 2; 1 Corinthians 16:15; Matthew 18:20
- 6 Romans 16:12; 1 Timothy 5:10; Matthew 27:55
- 7 Romans 16:21; Romans 16:11; Colossians 4:10; Philemon 23; Galatians 1:22
- 8 1 John 3:14; Philippians 4:1; Romans 16:5
- 9 Romans 16:21; Romans 16:2–3
- 10 Romans 14:18; 1 Peter 1:7; Deuteronomy 8:2; 2 Corinthians 8:22; 1 Timothy 3:10
- 11 Romans 16:21; Romans 16:7
- 12 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13; 1 Corinthians 15:58; 1 Corinthians 16:16; Hebrews 6:10–11; 1 Timothy 4:10
- 13 1 Timothy 5:2; 2 John 1; Mark 15:21; John 15:16; Matthew 12:49–50
- 14 1 Peter 1:22–23; Hebrews 3:1; Colossians 1:2; Romans 8:29
- 15 Romans 16:2; Romans 1:7; Isaiah 60:21; Romans 16:14; Ephesians 1:1
- 16 1 Corinthians 16:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Peter 5:14; Acts 20:37
- 17 Jude 19; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 1 Timothy 6:3–5; 2 Timothy 3:5; Colossians 2:8
- 18 Colossians 2:4; Matthew 7:15; 1 Timothy 6:5; Micah 3:5; Philippians 3:19
- 19 Matthew 10:16; 1 Corinthians 14:20; Philippians 2:15; James 3:13–18; Romans 1:8
- 20 Luke 10:19; 1 John 3:8; Genesis 3:15; Zechariah 10:5; Malachi 4:3
- 21 Acts 20:4; Acts 13:1; Romans 16:7; Romans 16:11; Acts 17:5
- 22 Galatians 6:11; Romans 16:8; 1 Corinthians 16:21; Colossians 3:17
- 23 Acts 19:22; 1 Corinthians 1:14; 3 John 1–6; 2 Timothy 4:20; Acts 19:29
- 25 1 Corinthians 2:7; Colossians 1:26–27; Romans 2:16; Ephesians 1:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:14
- 26 Romans 15:18; Romans 1:5; Galatians 3:8; Isaiah 40:28; 1 Timothy 1:17
- 27 Romans 11:36; 1 Timothy 1:17; Revelation 7:10–12; Revelation 19:1–6; Romans 11:33–34
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
I Think that many even of those who have the appearance of being extremely good men, hasten over this part of the Epistle as superfluous, and having no great weight in it. And I think that the same befalls them in regard to the genealogy that is in the Gospel.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 11 (1889)
… for them?" That we might watch, and be ever prepared for conflict, guarding against our disguised as well as against our open enemies: which kind indeed Paul also was intimating, when he said, that "by their good words they deceive the hearts of the simple." Let us not be troubled therefore, when we see many such even now.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)