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I would like you to welcome our sister Phoebe. She is a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. 2 I ask you to receive her as one who belongs to the Lord. Receive her in the way God's people should. Give her any help she may need from you. She has been a great help to many people, including me. 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila. They work together with me in serving Christ Jesus. 4 They have put their lives in danger for me. I am thankful for them. So are all the Gentile churches.
5 Greet also the church that meets in the house of Priscilla and Aquila.
Greet my dear friend Epenetus. He was the first person in Asia Minor to become a believer in Christ.
6 Greet Mary. She worked very hard for you.
7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews. They have been in prison with me. They are leaders among the apostles. They became believers in Christ before I did.
8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.
9 Greet Urbanus. He works together with me in serving Christ. And greet my dear friend Stachys.
10 Greet Apelles. He remained faithful to Christ even when he was tested.
Greet those who live in the house of Aristobulus.
11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.
Greet the believers who live in the house of Narcissus.
12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa. Those women work hard for the Lord.
Greet my dear friend Persis. She is another woman who has worked very hard for the Lord.
13 Greet Rufus. He is a chosen believer in the Lord. And greet his mother. She has been like a mother to me too.
14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon and Hermes. Greet Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.
15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister. Greet Olympas and all of the Lord's people who are with them.
16:1–15 Paul mentioned the names of many friends and people who worked with him. Many of these names are also found in the book of Acts and in Paul's letters. This list gives a picture of how the message about Jesus spread. Those on the list include teachers, apostles and people who welcomed others into their home. The list mentions women and men and Jews and Gentiles. It includes brothers, sisters, mothers and whole families. They had suffered side by side and some had been in prison together. Many different people worked together as partners and friends to share the good news. This group of very different people served the world as the body of Christ.
16 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the churches of Christ send their greetings.
17 I am warning you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who try to keep you from staying together. They want to trip you up. They teach you things opposite to what you have learned. Stay away from them. 18 People like that are not serving Christ our Lord. They are serving only themselves. With smooth talk and with words they don't mean they fool people who don't know any better. 19 Everyone has heard that you obey God. So you have filled me with joy. I want you to be wise about what is good. And I want you to have nothing to do with what is evil.
20 The God who gives peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21 Timothy works together with me. He sends his greetings to you. So do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.
22 I, Tertius, wrote down this letter. I greet you as a believer in the Lord.
23-24 Gaius sends you his greetings. He has welcomed me and the whole church here into his house.
Erastus is the director of public works here in the city. He sends you his greetings. Our brother Quartus also greets you.
25 May God receive glory. He is able to strengthen your faith. He does this in keeping with the good news and the message I preach. It is the message about Jesus Christ. This message is in keeping with the mystery hidden for a very long time. 26 The mystery has now been made known through the writings of the prophets. The eternal God commanded that it be made known. God wanted all the Gentiles to obey him by trusting in him. 27 May the only wise God receive glory for ever through Jesus Christ. Amen.
16:16–27 Paul's final words included greetings from some of his helpers to the believers in Rome. He also encouraged the believers to stay away from people who caused problems on purpose. These people wanted to stop the believers from living together in peace. They must stay away from any teachings that went against the message about Jesus. Paul called the message about Jesus a mystery. In other letters Paul called it the mystery of Christ. This mystery had been hidden but now had been made clear. God made the mystery clear through Israel's Scriptures. It had been preached by Paul and others who served Christ faithfully. God wants all people to put their faith in him and to obey him. When they do, they have nothing to do with evil. Instead, they are filled with God's peace and grace. This brings glory to God.