Romans 15

CHAPTER 15

Bearing the Weaknesses of Others

¹Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of ^athose without strength and not just please ourselves.

²Each of us is to ^aplease his neighbor ¹for his good, to his ^bbuilding up.

³For even ^aChrist did not please Himself; but as it is written, “^bThe reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”

⁴For ^awhatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

⁵Now may the ^aGod of perseverance and encouragement grant you ^bto be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,

⁶so that with one accord you may with one ¹voice glorify ^athe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ, the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

⁷Therefore, ^aaccept one another, just as Christ also accepted ¹us to the glory of God.

⁸For I say that Christ has become a servant to ^athe circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm ^bthe promises given to the fathers,

⁹and for ^athe Gentiles to ^bglorify God for His mercy; as it is written,

“^cTherefore I will ¹give praise to You among the Gentiles,

And I will sing to Your name.”

¹⁰And again he says,

“^aRejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”

¹¹And again,

“^aPraise the ¹Lord all you Gentiles,

And let all the peoples praise Him.”

¹²And again Isaiah says,

“^aThere shall come ^bthe root of Jesse,

And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles,

^cIn Him shall the Gentiles hope.”

¹³Now may the God of hope fill you with all ^ajoy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope ^bby the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s Ministry Plans

¹⁴But I myself am also convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of ^agoodness, having been filled with ^ball knowledge and being able also to admonish one another.

¹⁵But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of ^athe grace that was given me ¹by God

¹⁶for me to be ^aa minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the ^bgospel of God, so that my ^coffering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷Therefore in Christ Jesus I have ^areason for boasting in ^bthings pertaining to God.

¹⁸For I will not be bold to speak of anything ¹except what ^aChrist has brought about through me, ²leading to the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,

¹⁹in the power of ^1asigns and wonders, ^bin the power of the Spirit; so that ^cfrom Jerusalem and all around as ^dfar as Illyricum I have ²fully preached the gospel of Christ.

²⁰And in this way I make it my ambition to ^aproclaim the gospel, not where Christ was already named, ^bso that I would not build on another man’s foundation;

²¹but as it is written,

“^aThey who had no declaration of Him shall see,

And they who have not heard shall understand.”

²²For this reason ^aI have often been prevented from coming to you;

²³but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I ^ahave had for many years a longing to come to you

²⁴whenever I ^ago to Spain—for I hope, passing through, to see you, and to be ^bhelped on my way there by you, when I have first ^cenjoyed your company ¹for a while.

²⁵But now ^aI am going to Jerusalem to ^bserve the ¹saints.

²⁶For ^aMacedonia and ^bAchaia were pleased to ¹share with the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

²⁷Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For ^aif the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.

²⁸Therefore, when I have completed this and ^ahave ¹put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will ^bgo on by way of you to Spain.

²⁹And I know that when ^aI come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

³⁰Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^athe love of the Spirit, to ^bstrive together with me in your prayers to God for me,

³¹that I may be ^arescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my ^bservice for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the ^1csaints;

³²so that ^aI may come to you in joy by ^bthe will of God and find rest in your company.

³³Now may ^athe God of peace be with you all. Amen.