14 Now as for a person whose trust is weak, welcome him — but not to get into arguments over opinions. ² One person has the trust that will allow him to eat anything, while another whose trust is weak eats only vegetables. ³ The one who eats anything must not look down on the one who abstains; and the abstainer must not pass judgment on the one who eats anything, because God has accepted him — ⁴ who are you to pass judgment on someone else’s servant? It is before his own master that he will stand or fall; and the fact is that he will stand, because the Lord is able to make him stand.

⁵ One person considers some days more holy than others, while someone else regards them as being all alike. What is important is for each to be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ He who observes a day as special does so to honor the Lord. Also he who eats anything, eats to honor the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; likewise the abstainer abstains to honor the Lord, and he too gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives only in relation to himself, and none of us dies only in relation to himself; ⁸ for if we live, we live in relation to the Lord; and if we die, we die in relation to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord — ⁹ indeed, it was for this very reason that the Messiah died and came back to life, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ You then, why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For all of us will stand before God’s judgment seat; ¹¹ since it is written in the Tanakh,

¹² So then, every one of us will have to give an account of himself to God.

¹³ Therefore, let’s stop passing judgment on each other! Instead, make this one judgment — not to put a stumbling block or a snare in a brother’s way. ¹⁴ I know — that is, I have been persuaded by the Lord Yeshua the Messiah — that nothing is unclean in itself. But if a person considers something unclean, then for him it is unclean; ¹⁵ and if your brother is being upset by the food you eat, your life is no longer one of love. Do not, by your eating habits, destroy someone for whom the Messiah died! ¹⁶ Do not let what you know to be good, be spoken of as bad; ¹⁷ for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, shalom and joy in the Ruach HaKodesh. ¹⁸ Anyone who serves the Messiah in this fashion both pleases God and wins the approval of other people.

¹⁹ So then, let us pursue the things that make for shalom and mutual upbuilding. ²⁰ Don’t tear down God’s work for the sake of food. True enough, all things are clean; but it is wrong for anybody by his eating to cause someone to fall away. ²¹ What is good is not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. ²² The belief you hold about such things, keep between yourself and God. Happy the person who is free of self-condemnation when he approves of something! ²³ But the doubter comes under condemnation if he eats, because his action is not based on trust. And anything not based on trust is a sin.

15 So we who are strong have a duty to bear the weaknesses of those who are not strong, rather than please ourselves. ² Each of us should please his neighbor and act for his good, thus building him up. ³ For even the Messiah did not please himself; rather, as the Tanakh says, ‘The insults of those insulting you fell on me.’^{[b] 4} For everything written in the past was written to teach us, so that with the encouragement of the Tanakh we might patiently hold on to our hope. ⁵ And may God, the source of encouragement and patience, give you the same attitude among yourselves as the Messiah Yeshua had, ⁶ so that with one accord and with one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

⁷ So welcome each other, just as the Messiah has welcomed you into God’s glory. ⁸ For I say that the Messiah became a servant of the Jewish people in order to show God’s truthfulness by making good his promises to the Patriarchs, ⁹ and in order to show his mercy by causing the Gentiles to glorify God — as it is written in the Tanakh,

¹³ May God, the source of hope, fill you completely with joy and shalom as you continue trusting, so that by the power of the Ruach HaKodesh you may overflow with hope.

¹⁴ Now I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and well able to counsel each other. ¹⁵ But on some points I have written you quite boldly by way of reminding you about them, because of the grace God has given me ¹⁶ to be a servant of the Messiah Yeshua for the Gentiles, with the priestly duty of presenting the Good News of God, so that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering, made holy by the Ruach HaKodesh.

¹⁷ In union with the Messiah Yeshua, then, I have reason to be proud of my service to God; ¹⁸ for I will not dare speak of anything except what the Messiah has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience by my words and deeds, ¹⁹ through the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Yerushalayim all the way to Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the Good News of the Messiah. ²⁰ I have always made it my ambition to proclaim the Good News where the Messiah was not yet known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation, ²¹ but rather, as the Tanakh puts it,

²² This is also why I have so often been prevented from visiting you. ²³ But now, since there is no longer a place in these regions that needs me, and since I have wanted for many years to come to you, ²⁴ I hope to see you as I pass through on my way to Spain, and to have you help me travel there after I have enjoyed your company awhile.

²⁵ But now I am going to Yerushalayim with aid for God’s people there. ²⁶ For Macedonia and Achaia thought it would be good to make some contribution to the poor among God’s people in Yerushalayim. ²⁷ They were pleased to do it, but the fact is that they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared with the Jews in spiritual matters, then the Gentiles clearly have a duty to help the Jews in material matters. ²⁸ So when I have finished this task and made certain that they have received this fruit, I will leave for Spain and visit you on my way there; ²⁹ and I know that when I come to you, it will be with the full measure of the Messiah’s blessings. ³⁰ And now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God on my behalf ³¹ that I will be rescued from the unbelievers in Y’hudah, and that my service for Yerushalayim will be acceptable to God’s people there. ³² Then, if it is God’s will, I will come to you with joy and have a time of rest among you. ³³ Now may the God of shalom be with you all. Amen.

16 I am introducing to you our sister Phoebe, shammash of the congregation at Cenchrea, ² so that you may welcome her in the Lord, as God’s people should, and give her whatever assistance she may need from you; for she has been a big help to many people — including myself.

³ Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers for the Messiah Yeshua. ⁴ They risked their necks to save my life; not only I thank them, but also all the Messianic communities among the Gentiles. ⁵ And give my greetings to the congregation that meets in their house.

Give my greetings to my dear friend Epaenetus, who was the first person in the province of Asia to put his trust in the Messiah.

⁶ Give my greetings to Miryam, who has worked very hard for you.

⁷ Greetings to Andronicus and Junia, relatives of mine who were in prison with me. They are well known among the emissaries; also they came to trust in the Messiah before I did.

⁸ Greetings to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.

⁹ Greetings to Urbanus, our fellow worker for the Messiah, and to my dear friend Stachys.

¹⁰ Greetings to Appeles, whose trust in the Messiah has been tested and proved.

Greet those in the household of Aristobulus.

¹¹ Greet my relative, Herodion.

¹² Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, women who are working hard for the Lord.

Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has done a lot of hard work for the Lord.

¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen by the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me too.

¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers who are with them.

¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all of God’s people who are with them.

¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the Messiah’s congregations send their greetings to you.

¹⁷ I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put snares alongside the teaching in which you have been trained — keep away from them. ¹⁸ For men like these are not serving our Lord the Messiah but their own belly; by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the innocent. ¹⁹ For everyone has heard about your obedience; therefore I rejoice over you. However, I want you to be wise concerning good, but innocent concerning evil. ²⁰ And God, the source of shalom, will soon crush the Adversary under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Yeshua be with you.

²¹ Timothy, my fellow-worker, sends greetings to you; so do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives.

²² I, Tertius, the one writing down this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³ My host Gaius, in whose home the whole congregation meets, greets you. Erastus the city treasurer and brother Quartus greet you. ^24 [h]