Romans 15

1We who are strong should help carry the weaknesses of those who are weak, and not just please ourselves.

2We should each please our neighbor, for their good, to build them up.

3For even Christ did not please Himself. As the Scripture says: The insults of those who insulted you fell on me.

4Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the patience and comfort the Scriptures give, we might have hope.

5May God, who gives patience and comfort, help you to live in harmony with one another, following Christ Jesus,

6so that with one heart and one voice you may give glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7So welcome one another, just as Christ welcomed you, to the glory of God.

8For I tell you that Christ became a servant of the Jews, to show that God is true, and to confirm the promises made to the ancestors,

9And also so that the other nations might give glory to God for His mercy. As the Scripture says: So I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.

10And again it says: Be glad, you nations, together with His people.

11And again: Praise the Lord, all you nations; let all the peoples praise Him.

12And Isaiah says: There will come a root from Jesse, one who will rise to rule the nations; the nations will put their hope in Him.

13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

14My brothers and sisters, I myself am sure that you are full of goodness and knowledge, and that you are able to teach one another.

15Still, I have written to you quite boldly on some points, to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me

16to be a servant of Christ Jesus to the other nations. I have the priestly duty of preaching the good news of God, so that the nations might become an offering that pleases God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.

17So I am proud of what I have done for God, in Christ Jesus.

18I will not dare to talk about anything except what Christ has done through me to bring the nations to obey God — by what I have said and done,

19by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully preached the good news of Christ.

20It has always been my goal to preach the good news where Christ was not already known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation.

21Instead, as the Scripture says: Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.

22This is also why I have so often been kept from coming to you.

23But now there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and I have wanted for many years to come to you.

24So I plan to do this when I go to Spain. I hope to see you as I pass through, and to have you help me on my way there, after I have enjoyed being with you for a while.

25But right now I am on my way to Jerusalem to help God's people there.

26For the believers in Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a gift for the poor among God's people in Jerusalem.

27They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the other nations have shared in the spiritual blessings of the Jews, they ought to share their material blessings with them.

28So after I have finished this task and made sure they receive this gift, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.

29I know that when I come to you, I will come with the full blessing of Christ.

30Brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love that the Spirit gives, I beg you to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

31Pray that I will be kept safe from those in Judea who do not believe, and that the help I bring to Jerusalem will be welcomed by God's people there.

32Then, by God's will, I can come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you.

33May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.