English Standard Version

New Living Translation

The Example of Christ

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

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Living to Please Others

We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves.

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Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

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We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.

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For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

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For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.”a

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For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

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Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

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May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,

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May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.

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that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

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Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.

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Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,

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Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jewsb to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.

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and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”

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He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:
“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing praises to your name.”c

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And again it is said,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

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And in another place it is written,
“Rejoice with his people,
you Gentiles.”d

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And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”

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And yet again,
“Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles.
Praise him, all you people of the earth.”e

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And again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
in him will the Gentiles hope.”

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And in another place Isaiah said,
“The heir to David’s thronef will come,
and he will rule over the Gentiles.
They will place their hope on him.”g

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May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

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I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,a that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

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Paul’s Reason for Writing

I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters,h that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them.

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But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God

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Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace,

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to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

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I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.

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In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.

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So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God.

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For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience — by word and deed,

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Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them.

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by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God — so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;

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They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit.i In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.j

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and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,

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My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.

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but as it is written,
“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”

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I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says,
“Those who have never been told about him will see,
and those who have never heard of him will understand.”k

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Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome

This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.

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In fact, my visit to you has been delayed so long because I have been preaching in these places.

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But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you,

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Paul’s Travel Plans

But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you.

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I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while.

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I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey.

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At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints.

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But before I come, I must go to Jerusalem to take a gift to the believersl there.

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For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.

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For you see, the believers in Macedonia and Achaiam have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem.

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For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.

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They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially.

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When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,b I will leave for Spain by way of you.

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As soon as I have delivered this money and completed this good deed of theirs, I will come to see you on my way to Spain.

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I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessingc of Christ.

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And I am sure that when I come, Christ will richly bless our time together.

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I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,

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Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.

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that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

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Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donationn I am taking to Jerusalem.

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so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.

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Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other.

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May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

33

And now may God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen.o

Parallel

English Standard Version

New Living Translation

Romans 15

Romans 15