Romans 15 is the fifteenth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle, while he was in Corinth in the mid-50s AD, with the help of an amanuensis (secretary), Tertius, who adds his own greeting in Romans 16:22.

According to Martin Luther,

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek.

Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: In Greek: Papyrus 118 (3rd century; extant verses 26–27, 32–33) Codex Vaticanus (AD 325–350) Codex Sinaiticus (330–360) Codex Alexandrinus (400–440) Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; complete) In Gothic language Codex Carolinus (6th/7th century; extant verses 3–13) In Latin Codex Carolinus (6th/7th century; extant verses 3–13)

Old Testament references Romans 15:3 references Psalm 69:9 Romans 15:9 references 2 Samuel 22:50 and Psalm 18:49 Romans 15:10 references Deuteronomy 32:43 Romans 15:11 references Psalm 117:1 Romans 15:12 references Isaiah 11:10 Romans 15:21 references Isaiah 52:15

New Testament references Romans 15:4 references 2 Timothy 3:16 references

Theme According to Lutheran theologian Harold Buls, much of chapter 15 continues the theme of the weak and strong which Paul had addressed in chapter 14, but the application is now wider than to adiaphora (things neither commanded nor forbidden). Buls observes that:

Verses 14 to 21 refer to Paul's "special ministry to the Gentiles",Gray, J. M. (c. 1915), Christian workers' commentary on the Old and New Testaments, arranged in sections with questions for use in family altars and in adult Bible classes, p. 601, accessed on 29 October 2024 and verses 22 to 29 relate to Paul's plans to visit the Christian community in Rome.

The scriptures Verses 3-4 In verse 3, Paul quotes from the Septuagint translation of Psalm 69:

He then continues, in order to establish that Christian liberty should be lived out in the service of others and with forbearance towards the weak:

Theologian William Robertson Nicoll states that "everything that was written before" refers to "the whole Old Testament".The Expositor's Greek Testament on Romans 15, accessed 3 October 2016 Lutheran theologian Johann Arndt paraphrases this verse as:

Anglican Bishop Handley Moule, writing in the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (1891), suggests that Paul develops here "a great principle, namely, that the Old Testament was throughout designed for the instruction and establishment of New Testament believers". The author of 2 Timothy elaborates a similar point in 2 Timothy 3:15–16:

The gentiles Verse 9

In verse 8, Paul refers to Jesus Christ as having become the servant of the circumcision (i.e. servant of the Abrahamic covenant: in but also translated as 'minister of the circumcised'Meyer's NT Commentary on Romans 15, accessed 5 October 2016 or 'servant of the Jews'), and then finds and quotes four extracts from the Old Testament which refer to the gentiles (): 2 Samuel 22:50 (referenced in Psalm 18:49); Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalm 117:1 and Isaiah 11:10.

Theologian Albert Barnes says that Jesus "exercised his office – the office of the Messiah – among the Jews, or with respect to the Jews[...] He was born a Jew; was circumcised; came "to" that nation; and died in their midst, without having gone himself to any other people", but with three objectives in mind: for the truth of God to confirm the promises made to the fathers and that the Gentiles[...] might [also] glorify God.Barnes' Notes on Romans 15, accessed 5 October 2016

Verse 12

The text of verse 12 is taken from Isaiah 11:10.

Illyricum In verse 19, Paul refers to the Roman province of Illyricum as the westernmost point of his missionary travels so far, Paul having "fully preached" the gospel from Jerusalem to this point. Illyricum stretched along the eastern coast of the Adriatic, and formed the northern boundary of Epirus and the north-western boundary of Macedonia.Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers on Romans 15, accessed 6 October 2016 According to Acts 20:1–2, he "went away to go to Macedonia, and having passed through those parts[...] he came to Greece"; Anglican Bishop Charles Ellicott argues that "the vague expression which we find in Acts 20:2, When he had gone over those parts", affords ample room for the circuit in question.Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers on Romans 15, accessed 6 October 2016

"Fully preached" () in relation to the gospel is generally understood to refer to the geographical reach of its preaching: the Jubilee Bible 2000 has "I have filled the entire area with the gospel of the Christ", and Moule suggests that "a fair paraphrase would thus be I have carried the Gospel everywhere".

See also Achaia Illyricum Jerusalem Jesus Christ Judea Macedonia Spain Related Bible parts: Deuteronomy 32, 2 Samuel 22, Psalm 18, Psalm 69, Psalm 117, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 52, Matthew 5, Acts 20

References

Bibliography

External links King James Bible - Wikisource English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) Multiple bible versions at Bible Gateway (NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)