The weaker brother (continued)
(Parallel teachings: 1 Corinthians 8:1–13; 1 Corinthians 10:23–11:1; Galatians 6:1–2)
- 1 Now, we (the strong) ought to bear with the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
- 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, for building him up.
- 3 For even the Anointed didn’t please Himself, but just as it’s *written: “The insults of the men insulting you fell on Me.”fnquotation/allusion to Psalm 69:9 (also quoted/alluded to by John 2:17)
- 4 For whatever was previously written, it was [all] written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope.
- 5 And may the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another in accordance with Jesus the Anointed,
- 6 so that single-mindedly and with one mouth you might glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed.
- 7 Therefore, welcome one another just as the Anointed also welcomed [you],fn“you” some later manuscripts have “us” here instead. to the glory of God.
The work of the Anointed
(Parallel teachings: Galatians 2:7–9; Ephesians 3:1–13)
- 8 For I say that the Anointed has become a servant to the men of circumcision for the sake of the truth of God, in order to confirm the promises given to the forefathers,
- 9 and a servant to the gentiles for the sake of mercy, to glorify God. Just as it’s *written:
- “Because of this, I will confess praise to you among the gentiles,
- and I will sing to your name.”fnquotation/allusion to 2 Samuel 22:50 and Psalm 18:49
- 10 And again it says:
- “You gentiles, rejoice with His people.”fnquotation/allusion to Deuteronomy 32:43 (also quoted/alluded to by Heb 1:6)
- 11 And again:
- “Praise the Lord all you gentiles,
- and exalt Him all peoples.”fnquotation/allusion to Psalm 117:1
- 12 And again, Isaiah says:
- “There will be the root of Jesse,
- and the One arising to rule over the gentiles;
- on Him the gentiles will hope.”fnquotation/allusion to Isaiah 11:10
- 13 And may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, for you to overflow in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- 14 And my brothers, I myself am also *convinced concerning you, that you yourselves are also full of goodness, *filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.
- 15 And [brothers,] I wrote to you more boldly, in part as one again reminding you because of the grace which was given to me by God,
- 16 for me to be a minister of Jesus the Anointed to the gentiles, ministering as a priest of the good news of God so that the offering of the gentiles might become acceptable, having been *made holy by the Holy Spirit.
- 17 Therefore in Jesus the Anointed, I have a reason for boasting of the things related to God.
- 18 For I won’t dare to speak of anything exceptfn“except” is literally “not” what the Anointed accomplished through me for the obedience of the gentiles in word and deed,
- 19 by the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit [of God], in order for me to have fulfilled the proclamation of the good news of the Anointed from Jerusalem, and all around as far as Illyricum.
Paul’s travel plans
(Parallel teachings: 2 Corinthians 10:13-16)
- 20 And so I’m earnestly striving to proclaim the good news where the Anointed wasn’t named, so that I won’t build on another man’s foundation.
- 21 But just as it’s *written:
- “To whom it wasn’t reported concerning Him, they will see;
- and men who haven’t heard will understand.”fnquotation/allusion to Isaiah 52:15
- 22 And because of that, I was often being hindered from coming to you.
- 23 But now, no longer having a place in these regions, and having a yearning to come to you for many years,
- 24 for I hope to see you while passing through when I travel into Spain,fnMany late manuscripts have “I will come to you” here. and to be helped onward by you there, if I might first be satisfied in part by your company.
Contribution to the holy ones in Jerusalem
(Parallel accounts: 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, 2 Corinthians 8:1–9:15, and likely Acts 24:17)
- 25 But now I travel to Jerusalem, ministering to the holy ones.
- 26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution to the poor holy ones in Jerusalem.
- 27 For they were pleased and they are their debtors. For if the gentiles shared in their spiritual things, they ought to minister to them in earthly things also.
- 28 Therefore, having accomplished this and having sealed this fruit for them, I will depart through you into Spain.
- 29 And I *know that when coming to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of [the good news of]fnThis textual variant is present in the majority of later manuscripts, but absent from the earliest manuscripts. the Anointed.
- 30 And brothers, I urge you through our Lord Jesus the Anointed and through the ^love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in prayers to God for me,
- 31 so that I might be rescued from the men in Judea refusing to believe, and so that my service for Jerusalem might be acceptable to the holy ones,
- 32 so that having come to you with joy through the will of God, I might be refreshed with you.
- 33 And the God of peace be with you all. Amen.