Romans 16 : Easy-to-Read Version
Paul Has Some Final Things to Say
16 1I want you to know that you can trust our sister [in Christ], Phoebe. She is a special helper* in the church in Cenchrea. 2I ask you to accept her in the Lord. Accept her the way God's people should. Help her with anything she needs from you. She has helped me very much, and she has helped many other people too.
3Say hello to Priscilla and Aquila. They work together with me in Christ Jesus. 4They risked their own lives to save my life. I am thankful to them, and all the non-Jewish churches are thankful to them.
5Also, say hello to the church that meets at their house. Say hello to my dear friend Epaenetus. He was the first person to follow Christ in Asia.* 6Say hello to Mary. She worked very hard for you. 7Say hello to Andronicus and Junia. They are my relatives, and they were in prison with me. They are some of God's most important helpers.* They were believers in Christ before I was. 8Say hello to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 9Say hello to Urbanus. He is a worker together with me for Christ. And say hello to my dear friend Stachys. 10Say hello to Apelles. He was tested and proved that he truly loves Christ. Say hello to all those people that are in the family of Aristobulus. 11Say hello to Herodion, my relative. Say hello to all the people in the family of Narcissus that belong to the Lord. 12Say hello to Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Those women work very hard for the Lord. Say hello to my dear friend Persis. She has also worked very hard for the Lord. 13Say hello to Rufus. He is a special person in the Lord. Say hello to his mother. She has been a mother to me also. 14Say hello to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the brothers [in Christ] that are with them. 15Say hello to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas. And say hello to all the saints (believers) with them. 16When you see each other, say hello with a holy kiss. All of Christ's churches (groups of believers) say hello to you.
17Brothers [and sisters], I ask you to be very careful of those people that cause people to be against each other. Be very careful of those people that upset other people's faith. Those people are against the true teaching you learned. Stay away from those people. 18People like that are not serving our Lord Christ. They are only doing things to please themselves. They use fancy talk and say nice things to fool the minds of people that don't know about evil.
19All the believers have heard that you obey. So I am very happy because of you. But I want you to be wise about the things that are good. And I want you to know nothing about things that are evil. 20The God that brings peace will soon defeat Satan (the devil) and give you power over him. The grace (kindness) of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21Timothy, a worker together with me, says hello to you. Also Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater (these are my relatives) say hello to you. 22I am Tertius, and I am writing these things that Paul says. I say hello to you in the Lord. 23Gaius is letting me and the whole church here use his home. He also says hello to you. Erastus and our brother Quartus say hello to you. Erastus is the city treasurer here. 24*
25Glory to God. God is the One who can make you strong in faith. God can use the Good News* that I teach to make you strong. That is the Good News about Jesus Christ that I tell people. That Good News is the secret truth that God has made known. That secret truth was hidden since the beginning. 26But that secret truth has now been shown to us. And that truth has been made known to all people. It has been made known by the things the prophets* wrote. This is what God commanded. And that secret truth has been made known to all people, so that they can believe and obey God. God lives forever. 27Glory forever to the only wise God through Jesus Christ. Amen.
special helper A Greek word meaning "servant." Asia The western part of Asia Minor. some of God's ... helpers Literally, "important among (or to) the apostles." Verse 24 Some Greek copies add verse 24: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen." Good News The news that God has made a way for people to have their sins forgiven and live with him forever. prophets People that spoke for God. Some of them wrote books that are part of the Old Testament.